Payment provider comparison
This is the side-by-side view. For guidance on choosing, start with which payment gateway should you use — this page is the reference table behind it.
The market at a glance
Blank cells indicate no data available. Dates in brackets indicate when the figure was last reported, not when it was set.
| Provider | Mobile money | Cards | Reported setup fee | Reported rate | Reported settlement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPO | Yes | Yes — the 2026 default | None; free test env (Oct 2023) | Unknown | T+2, auto above ~$100 (Oct 2023–Oct 2024) |
| Lenco (BroadPay, formerly Sparco) | Yes | Down since ~early 2025 | 3.5% mobile, 3.8% card (Dec 2023–Mar 2024) | Instant MM, T+1 local cards, T+8 intl (Jul 2024) | |
| GeePay | Yes — all three MNOs | ||||
| PawaPay | Yes — widely adopted as of 2026 | ||||
| 543 Konse Konse (cGrate) | Yes | Free if self-integrated; $1,000 and K5,800 also reported (2023–2025) | 1.5% mobile (Aug 2025–Apr 2026) | ||
| Lipila (Hobbiton) | Yes | Free (Apr 2026) | |||
| Digital PayGo | Yes | Free if self-integrated (Apr 2026) | 1.5% (Apr 2026) | ||
| Tingg (Cellulant) | Yes | $500 or $1,000 — varies by report (Oct 2023–Mar 2024) | ~5% (Mar 2024) | ||
| Kazang | Yes | $2,000 commitment fee (Oct 2023) | |||
| ZynlePay | Yes | K7,000 (Apr 2026) | |||
| PrimePay / PrimeNet | Yes | Yes | K12,000 (Aug 2025) | 3% mobile, 4% card (Aug 2025) | |
| Tilt (Zoona) | Yes | 2.5% + K1,000/mo minimum (Dec 2023) | |||
| eLipa | Yes | ~2.5% pre-launch estimate (Oct 2023) | |||
| Tumeny | Yes | 3% or 4% — varies by report (Mar 2024) | |||
| Direct MNO (MTN / Airtel / Zamtel) | Yes | None charged to aggregators | ~2% (Mar 2025) | ||
| Flutterwave | Unknown |
How to read this table
- Setup fees cluster into two camps. Providers that support self-integration charge nothing (DPO, Lipila, Digital PayGo, cGrate); providers that quote four- and five-figure Kwacha fees are charging for their own onboarding process. Aggregators pay no once-off integration fee to MTN, Airtel or Zamtel, so a setup fee is a cost passed to the merchant, not one incurred on their behalf.
- Mobile-money rates run 1.5%–3.5%, with 1.5% (cGrate, Digital PayGo) at the bottom end in 2026 reports and Lenco’s 3.5% at the top. Going direct to the mobile networks is cheaper still (~2% reported) but means three integrations, three reconciliations and three floats.
- Cards are a different world. Aggregator card support declined through 2025 — see accepting card payments — which is why DPO dominates the card column.
- Settlement data is sparse. Only three providers have documented settlement terms. DPO’s cash-out delays are a frequently cited operational issue.
Provider pages
- DPO — the primary card-processing option
- Lenco (BroadPay) — mobile money across all three MNOs
- GeePay — mobile-money collections across all three MNOs
A PawaPay page has not been written yet. Contribute a provider page.