TL;DR
Nigerian bank cards often fail on CircleCI because of foreign merchant and recurring billing restrictions. CircleCI charges in USD and requires reliable monthly payments. To pay successfully from Nigeria, you need a dollar-denominated card that supports international subscriptions. EverTry provides a virtual dollar card that works with Circle CI. You add it like a normal card and keep it funded for renewals.
Who This Guide Is For (and Who It Isn’t)
This guide is for:
- Nigerian software engineers and DevOps engineers
- Startup founders and small engineering teams
- Anyone stuck at CircleCI’s payment step
This guide is not for:
- Teams already paying with US or EU-issued cards
- Users who will stay permanently on CircleCI’s Free plan
The Problem: Paying for CircleCI From Nigeria Is Harder Than It Should Be
You choose a CircleCI plan.
You enter your card details.
The payment fails.
You retry.
It fails again.
Your bank says, “international merchant issue.”
Or says nothing useful at all.
Meanwhile:
- Your pipelines stop
- Deployments slow down
- Work piles up
This is common in Nigeria.
And it’s not because you did something wrong.
What Is CircleCI and Why Developers Depend on It
CircleCI is a CI/CD platform.
It automatically tests and deploys your code.
Teams use CircleCI to:
- Run tests on every commit
- Catch bugs early
- Ship faster and more reliably
For many startups, Circle CI is not optional.
It’s infrastructure.
When billing fails, workflows break.
How CircleCI Charges Cards
CircleCI billing has a few characteristics that matter if you’re paying from Nigeria:
- Currency: USD
- Billing type: Monthly subscription
- Payment model: Automatic recurring charges
- Retries: Limited if a charge fails
CircleCI expects your card to:
- Accept international USD payments
- Support recurring billing without manual approval
This is where most Nigerian cards struggle.
Why Nigerian Bank Cards Fail on CircleCI
Most Nigerian debit cards were not built for global SaaS billing.
Common reasons payments fail:
- Foreign merchant restrictions
- FX controls at the bank level
- Blocks on recurring international charges
- Inconsistent policies across banks
Important to note:
If your card fails on Circle CI, it does not mean your account is flagged or your card is broken.
It usually means the system cannot support what CircleCI requires.
CircleCI Pricing Explained
CircleCI Free Plan
- Best for individuals and small experiments
- Limited build minutes
- No payment required
Most teams eventually outgrow this plan.
CircleCI Performance Plan
- For growing teams and startups
- More compute and parallelism
- Monthly billing required
This is where most Nigerian teams hit payment issues.
CircleCI Scale Plan
- For larger teams and production workloads
- Advanced features and higher limits
- Requires reliable, uninterrupted billing
At this level, payment reliability matters even more than pricing.
What CircleCI Expects From a Payment Method
CircleCI expects:
- A card that bills in USD
- International acceptance
- Reliable recurring payments
- Low decline rates
This is standard for global developer tools like AWS, GitHub, and DigitalOcean.
Local cards often fail here.
How to Get an EverTry Virtual Dollar Card
Getting started is straightforward:
- Download the EverTry app on iOS or Android
- Create an account using your email address
- Complete KYC with a government-issued ID
- Fund your wallet using any available method
- Create your virtual dollar card
- Fund the card with the amount you want to pay
Once funded, the card is ready for use.
How to Pay for CircleCI Using EverTry
To pay for CircleCI:
- Log in to your CircleCI dashboard
- Go to Billing
- Choose your plan
- Enter your EverTry card details like a normal card
- Confirm payment
If the card is funded correctly, the payment goes through.
Recurring Billing: What You Should Know
CircleCI charges monthly.
EverTry supports recurring billing by default.
What this means:
- CircleCI will charge the card automatically
- You do not need to re-enter details
- You only need to keep the card funded before the next billing cycle
Best practice:
- Keep a small buffer on the card
- Avoid last-minute funding on renewal day
The Missing Piece: Paying Like the Internet Expects
This is where virtual dollar cards come in.
A virtual dollar card is:
- Denominated in USD
- Issued for international payments
- Designed for online subscriptions
EverTry provides a virtual dollar card built for this use case.
It doesn’t change Circle CI.
It simply meets CircleCI’s payment requirements.
Common Payment Failure Scenarios (and Why They Happen)
| Scenario | What Happens | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Initial payment fails | Card declined | Bank blocks foreign merchant |
| First month works, next fails | Subscription paused | Recurring billing blocked |
| Card funded but fails | Payment error | FX or bank-level restriction |
Understanding this helps you troubleshoot faster.
Nigerian Bank Cards vs EverTry Virtual Dollar Card
| Feature | Nigerian Bank Cards | EverTry Virtual Dollar Card |
|---|---|---|
| USD billing | Often blocked | Supported |
| Recurring payments | Unreliable | Built-in |
| Works with Circle CI | Inconsistent | Reliable |
| FX restrictions | Common | Minimal |
| Decline rate | High | Low |
This difference is why many developers switch.
Before You Pay: Quick Checklist
Before confirming payment:
- Correct plan selected
- Card funded with enough balance
- Extra buffer added
- Billing email verified
- Card supports recurring billing
This avoids unnecessary retries.
Common Questions Nigerian Developers Ask
Will this work for recurring billing?
Yes. As long as the card is funded, Circle CI will renew automatically.
Is CircleCI safe with virtual cards?
Yes. CircleCI treats it like any standard international card.
What happens if my balance runs out?
The next charge will fail, and CircleCI may pause your plan.
Is this legal in Nigeria?
Yes. Virtual dollar cards are commonly used for international services.
Final Thought
CircleCI is part of your workflow.
Payment shouldn’t be what breaks it.
If you need a payment method that works the way global developer tools expect, a virtual dollar card like EverTry is a practical option.
Download EverTry and unblock your payments:
iOS: Download EverTry on the App Store and create your virtual dollar card in minutes.
Android: Download EverTry on Google Play to pay for Circle CI and other global developer tools.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. Payment success may vary based on CircleCI policies, card funding, and account status. EverTry is not affiliated with CircleCI, and all trademarks are the property of their respective owners.