Buying tickets and registering for free events

Free events

Open the event and choose Register (RSVP). You get a ticket with a QR code straight away — no payment step. One registration per person per event.

Paid events — step by step

1. Choose tickets. Pick a date (for multi-date events), a ticket type and how many. You can buy up to 50 of one type and 100 in total per order.
2. Promo code. If you have one, enter it before continuing. A valid code shows the discount immediately; an invalid, expired or fully used code is rejected with a reason.
3. Review the order. You see the ticket price, Abonten's service fee (a percentage of the ticket price, shown as its own line) and the total.
4. Hold. When you continue, your tickets are held for 30 minutes. A countdown shows how long you have. If you leave, your pending checkout waits for you under the checkout basket (web) or the Tickets tab (app) until it expires.
5. Pay. Choose a saved payment method or pay with a new card or mobile-money wallet (see Payments and payment methods). For mobile money you may be asked to confirm a prompt on your phone or enter a one-time code.
6. Done. Your tickets appear in My Tickets (web) or the Tickets tab (app), and a confirmation email with your tickets is sent if your account has an email address.

You cannot start a second checkout for an event while you already have a pending checkout or a ticket for it. Cancel the pending checkout first if you want to change it.

When the payment takes a moment

After you pay, Abonten confirms the payment with Paystack before issuing tickets. This usually takes a second or two. If you see "payment received, preparing your tickets" for longer, use the Retry button or reopen the checkout — it re-checks the payment and issues the tickets. You are never charged twice for the same checkout.

When a payment fails

If your card or wallet declines, nothing is issued and you can try again with another method while your hold lasts. If the hold expires, start the checkout again — ticket availability may have changed.

Where the money goes

The organizer receives the full ticket price they set. The service fee is Abonten's charge to the customer and is not refunded if you later cancel — see Refunds and cancellations.

Paying partly with Abonten Credit

If the Abonten Rewards programme is available to you and you have credit that can be spent on tickets, checkout shows how much credit is applied and how much cash remains. Credit is reserved when you start paying and returned if the payment fails. See Rewards and Abonten Credit.

Common questions

• The event says "sold out" or a ticket type is unavailable — quantities are fixed by the organizer; a held-but-unpaid checkout releases its tickets when it expires, so it is worth checking back.
• The event is in progress or has ended — tickets can only be bought before an event (or its next date) starts.
• I bought for someone else — tickets are tied to your account, but the QR code is what gets scanned. You can show or forward the ticket; be careful, because whoever holds the code can be checked in.