Ethiopian Payment Gateway Fees Compared
Fee comparisons for Ethiopian payment gateways and Verify Checkout. Monthly cost assumes 200,000 ETB of sales across 300 payments, with 15% VAT added where the published fee excludes tax.
| Provider | Transaction Fee | Subscription Fee | Settlement | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telebirr reported | In-store free. Online rate not published. An agreement copy says 0.5%. | Not published | Not published by Ethio telecom. | 1,150 ETB |
| Telebirr 0.8% reported | Reported 0.8%, minimum 1 ETB, maximum 100 ETB. | Not published | T+1, from the same third-party report. | 1,840 ETB |
| YagoutPay | 1% up to 1,000 ETB, 0.85% to 10,000, and 0.75% above that. | None | Not published | 2,300 ETB |
| Chapa | 2.5% per successful local payment. 1% international. | None | Advertises instant payouts. A third party reports T+1 to T+2, with a 500 ETB minimum. | 5,750 ETB |
| FenanPay | 2.5% plus 15% VAT, so 2.875% on the calculator. | Not published | Not published | 5,750 ETB |
| LakiPay | 2.75% customer-to-platform. 1% for B2B card payments. | None | Advertises instant settlement. | 6,325 ETB |
| ArifPay | About 2.8% per domestic payment. | None | 1 to 2 business days, from a third-party listing. | 6,440 ETB |
| Verify Checkout | None. Customers pay your own account. | Plus, 500 ETB | In your account when the customer sends it. | 500 ETB |
Monthly cost uses that example. FenanPay’s published rate already includes VAT. A row marked reported is not on the provider’s own price page. SantimPay, AddisPay, BirrLink, Kacha, M-PESA merchant, and CBE merchant do not publish a rate, so they are not in this table. Fees checked .
Run Your Own Numbers
For a monthly and yearly estimate at your own volume, use the payment gateway fee calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Among published prices, YagoutPay is the lowest aggregator rate at 0.75% to 1%. Telebirr's online merchant rate is reported at 0.5% or 0.8%, and Ethio telecom does not publish it. Chapa, LakiPay, FenanPay, and ArifPay publish 2.5% to 2.875%. If most payments are local transfers, a flat verification plan can cost less than a percentage fee once monthly sales pass roughly 17,000 to 20,000 ETB.
2.5% per successful local transaction and 1% on international payments, with no setup or monthly fee, from the Ethiopia tab of chapa.co/pricing on 8 October 2026. The merchant agreement says fees exclude tax. Other figures in circulation are 2%, 1.5%, and about 3.5%, so check the rate in your Chapa dashboard.
Not directly. Ethiopia is not a Stripe-supported country. PayPal's Ethiopia site offers personal send and shop services only. Some local gateways accept international cards. Chapa lists 1% for international payments, and ArifPay lists Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal.
The gateway itself must be licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia. As a merchant you need ordinary business KYC to open an account: a trade licence, TIN, memorandum of association, and ID. Telebirr also asks for a VAT certificate and a business proposal.
FenanPay adds 15% VAT on its fee. Chapa's agreement says fees exclude tax. ArifPay, LakiPay, and YagoutPay do not say. Budget for 15% on top unless the contract says the price includes it.
The customer pays their bank or wallet's normal sending fee. Receiving is free for you. At about 667 ETB, Telebirr wallet-to-wallet is 4 ETB, CBE to CBE on mobile is about 0.58 ETB including VAT, a transfer to another bank is about 8.8 ETB, and M-PESA wallet-to-wallet up to 3,000 ETB is free. A gateway percentage is paid by you, and Chapa's agreement says you may not add it as a surcharge.
Chapa advertises instant payouts, and a third party reports T+1 to T+2 with a 500 ETB minimum. ArifPay is reported at 1 to 2 business days. BirrLink lists T+1, daily, and instant tiers. M-PESA merchant pays out within one business day of a payout request. A direct transfer verified by Checkout is in your account when the customer sends it.