Use AI APIs without a virtual dollar card

Guide · Updated 2026-10-21

Short answer: instead of loading a virtual dollar card to pay a dollar-only AI API, you can fund BaseURL directly in naira through Paystack and use open-source AI models with the same OpenAI-style code.

Why do developers use virtual dollar cards for AI APIs?

Most AI APIs bill in US dollars. Many Nigerian developers get a virtual dollar card from a service such as Geegpay or Chipper Cash to pay them. That works, but it adds steps: converting naira, card fees, funding limits, and payments that are sometimes declined.

What is the alternative?

Pay for the AI API in naira. On BaseURL you top up your balance through Paystack with a Nigerian card or a bank transfer, and use the balance across all models with one API key. You see the exact credit before you pay, and the rate is locked for that top-up.

Do I have to rewrite my code?

No. If your code uses the openai library or any OpenAI-compatible client, change the base URL and the key:

# The openai library works with any compatible API.
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.baseurl.dev/v1",
    api_key="YOUR_BASEURL_KEY",
)

reply = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gateway-fast",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello from Lagos"}],
)
print(reply.choices[0].message.content)

Node.js:

// The openai library works with any compatible API.
import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "https://api.baseurl.dev/v1",
  apiKey: process.env.BASEURL_KEY,
});

const reply = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "gateway-fast",
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello from Abuja" }],
});
console.log(reply.choices[0].message.content);

cURL:

curl https://api.baseurl.dev/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BASEURL_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "gateway-fast", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]}'

How do I start?

1. Create an account at app.baseurl.dev. New accounts are reviewed, usually within 5 minutes.
2. Top up in naira through Paystack, with a Nigerian card or a bank transfer. The minimum top-up is shown in your dashboard (normally ₦2,000). Before you pay you see the exact credit you will get, with the payment fee included.
3. Create an API key on the API keys page. You can give it a monthly naira spending limit.
4. Point your code at https://api.baseurl.dev/v1 and pick a model, for example gateway-fast.

Which models are available?

• gateway-micro: powered by Nemotron Lightning 3.5 30B. Cheapest, for high-volume simple tasks.
• gateway-fast: powered by DeepSeek V4.1 Flash. Fast everyday tasks.
• gateway-coder: powered by gpt-oss-120b. Coding and reasoning at low cost.
• gateway-vision: powered by GLM-5.3 Flash. Images and documents.
• gateway-smart: powered by Qwen 3.8 Max. Smart all-round.
• kimi-k3: Kimi K3. Top quality for agents and coding.

Current prices per million tokens are on the models table, and in naira inside your dashboard.

Is my data stored?

No. BaseURL does not log or store your prompts or completions. They pass through to the inference provider only to generate your response. See the privacy policy.

Is BaseURL affiliated with OpenAI or DeepSeek?

No. BaseURL is an independent service. The models are open-source models, run for us by Fireworks AI. BaseURL accepts the same request format as the OpenAI API, which is why the openai code library works with it.

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