When a gateway advertises “2%”, that 2% is the start of the cost, not the total. By the time the money reaches your bank, several other deductions have taken their share — and most merchants only discover the real number on payday. Here’s what actually makes up the cost of a payment in Zimbabwe.
The pieces of a payment fee
- Commission — the gateway’s headline percentage on what you collect. This is the “2%” (or 3%) on the poster.
- VAT — value-added tax applies within the commission; it isn’t extra on top, but it’s part of what you’re paying and your accountant needs it named.
- IMTT — the Intermediated Money Transfer Tax. On many electronic transactions this is a further percentage of the amount, and it is easy to forget when you estimate margins.
- Wallet-to-bank / transfer fee — moving collected funds from the payment rail to your bank account carries its own charge, sometimes capped, sometimes not.
Stack those together and a “2%” headline can become roughly double in real terms. None of it is hidden on purpose — it’s just spread across steps that most gateways never show you in one place.
Why “shown on payday” is the real problem
If you only see the deductions on the settlement statement, you’ve already made the sale at the wrong price. You can’t price a product properly around a number you won’t learn until later. The fix isn’t a lower headline rate — it’s seeing the full, itemised cost before you charge.
See the real number up front
Lango previews every charge to the cent before the customer confirms — commission, IMTT and transfer fee, each named — and shows the same breakdown again on the settlement advice. Nothing appears on payday that you didn’t already see at checkout.
You also choose who carries it:
- Absorb it and show one clean price, with the fee coming out of your side.
- Pass it on as its own clear line at checkout, so you keep the full price of the sale.
Either way, the number is honest and the same engine that quotes it is the one that charges — so a quote can never drift from what actually happens.
A note on cash
A payment gateway should never take a cut of money that never touched it. Lango’s rate applies only to what you actually collect through it — your cash sales are yours, in full, always.
Want the exact rate for your business? See our pricing or create a free account and preview a real charge in the sandbox.