What is BuyChat and how does it work?
BuyChat (buychat.ng) is a Nigerian marketplace built around one rule: the seller is paid only after the buyer confirms delivery. Around that rule sit an AI shopping assistant (Aisha) that finds, compares, and books things by chat; verified sellers and providers; and verticals covering products, food, services, laundry, rides, dispatch, event tickets, rentals, short-let stays, surprise deliveries, and crypto-to-naira payments.
The one rule everything is built on
Nigerian online commerce runs on a trust gap: pay first and hope, or lose the sale. BuyChat closes it structurally. When a buyer pays, the money goes into a protected hold — not the seller's account. The seller ships or performs knowing the order is funded; the buyer confirms delivery; then the seller is paid. If the item never arrives or isn't as described, the held money funds the refund. (Details: what protected payment is and the refund policy.)
That single rule is why strangers can safely transact — a first-day home seller offers the exact same payment safety as the biggest store.
Aisha — shopping as a conversation
Instead of browsing filters, you tell Aisha what you need, the way you'd tell a person: "something nice to wear to a party this weekend, under ₦40k" · "who does laundry pickup in Yaba?" · "a ride to the airport, I'm offering 5,000" · "surprise my mum in Ibadan on her birthday."
She searches the whole market (semantic search — descriptions work, not just product names), shows real listings with prices and verification badges, books and pays inside the chat, and tracks the order after. If nobody stocks what you asked for, she remembers — and notifies you the day a vendor lists it.
What's on the marketplace
- Products & food from verified home sellers and registered businesses
- Services — catering, cleaning, beauty, repairs, and more, with inspection-first quoting
- Laundry with doorstep pickup and delivery
- Rides where you negotiate the fare, and dispatch for packages
- Event tickets with QR-verified entry (no fake tickets)
- Rentals — generators, cameras, event gear, with security deposits
- Short-let stays with verified guests and hosts
- Heartwarmer — book a real person to call, serenade, or hand-deliver a surprise
- Crypto-to-naira — receive USDT/BTC payments that land as spendable naira
Trust you can see
Every seller name carries its verification state: the blue tick for identity-verified individuals (NIN/BVN), the Verified pill for CAC-registered businesses. Ratings and reviews accrue publicly. Deliveries hand over with QR verification. Disputes are mediated with the held money as the backstop.
Where to start
Web: buychat.ng · Android: "BuyChat" on Google Play · iOS: BuyChat on the App Store. Open a chat, tell Aisha what you need, and let the market answer.
Frequently asked questions
Is BuyChat free to use?
Joining, browsing, chatting with Aisha, and opening a store are free. Buyers pay a small service fee at checkout; sellers pay a commission on completed sales. Everything is published at buychat.ng/fees — no hidden charges.
What makes it different from Jumia or Instagram vendors?
Two things: the payment structure (money held until you confirm delivery — Instagram vendors can't offer that, and it applies to every seller here including small home businesses), and Aisha — you describe what you want in plain language and she does the searching, comparing, and ordering in chat.
Who can sell on BuyChat?
Individuals (identity-verified with NIN — earning the blue tick) and registered businesses (CAC-verified — earning the business badge). Home cooks, thrift sellers, laundries, riders, event organisers, hosts, and rental owners all operate on the same protected rails.
Can AI assistants use BuyChat?
Yes — BuyChat is agent-friendly by design. Users can connect Claude or ChatGPT to shop on their behalf via the hosted connector (mcp.buychat.ng), and the catalogue is openly crawlable for AI answer engines.
Shop protected on BuyChat
Your money is held safely and released to the seller only after you confirm delivery.
Start shopping