> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.novacpayment.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> Learn how Novac checkout works and choose the integration approach that fits your product.

Novac Checkout is how you create a payment session for your customer. Your server creates a checkout with the transaction details, amount, currency, customer email, and reference. Novac returns a session that the customer completes by paying.

There are two ways a merchant can choose to handle payment completion. Both methods use the same underlying API to create the session; the difference is in who renders the payment UI.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card icon="browser" title="Prebuilt Checkout" href="/docs/accept-payment/complete-payment/prebuilt-checkout">
    Redirect customers to a Novac-hosted payment page. All payment methods are included out of the box, no UI work required.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="pen-ruler" title="Custom Checkout" href="/docs/accept-payment/complete-payment/custom-checkout">
    Build your own payment UI and call Novac APIs directly for each payment method. Full control over the look and feel.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## Choosing an Approach

|                     | Prebuilt Checkout          | Custom Checkout        |
| ------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| **UI ownership**    | Novac-hosted               | You build it           |
| **Setup effort**    | Minimal                    | Higher                 |
| **Payment methods** | All included automatically | Integrated per channel |
| **Customisation**   | Limited                    | Full control           |

***

## Supported Payment Methods

Both checkout approaches support the same set of payment channels. You can control which ones appear using the `allowedPaymentOptions` field on the checkout request.

| Code      | Channel                                       |
| --------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| `CARD`    | Debit / Credit Card (Visa, Mastercard, Verve) |
| `PWBT`    | Pay With Bank Transfer                        |
| `USSD`    | USSD dial-to-pay                              |
| `OPAY`    | OPay Wallet                                   |
| `PALMPAY` | PalmPay Wallet                                |
| `MOMO`    | MTN / Telecel Mobile Money                    |

<Note>
  You can restrict which channels appear at checkout by passing `allowedPaymentOptions` in your request e.g. `"CARD,PWBT"`. [Learn more about payment preferences →](/docs/getting-started/payment-preference)
</Note>