How payment pricing works

What determines payment processing fees in South Africa?

A processing fee is a bundle, not a single price: the card schemes' and banks' costs underneath, the provider's platform and risk costs in the middle, and a margin on top. Five things move it for any given merchant - payment method mix, transaction volumes, industry risk, chargeback history and the commercial model you choose. Once you can see those five parts, quotes stop being mysterious and start being comparable.

Transaction fees versus settlement timing

These are two different levers, and a quote is only honest if it shows both. The transaction fee is what you pay per payment; settlement timing is how long your money takes to reach your bank account. Faster settlement has a real cost to a provider - it carries risk and working capital on your behalf - so a low headline rate paired with slow settlement can cost a cash-hungry business more than a fairer rate with faster funds. Always compare the pair, never the rate alone.

What is interchange?

Interchange is the fee paid by the acquiring bank to the card-issuing bank on every card transaction. It is set at card-scheme level and subject to local regulation - your payment provider does not control it, and no provider can sustainably price below it. Interchange is why card pricing has a floor, why premium and corporate cards cost more to accept than standard debit cards, and why any quote dramatically below the market deserves a second read.

Why your method mix changes the blend

Interchange applies to cards - but South Africans do not only pay by card. Instant EFT and vouchers have entirely different cost structures, with no interchange underneath them. A merchant whose customers mostly pay by instant EFT or voucher should not be priced as if every transaction were a card transaction. This is the core problem with one-size-fits-all blended rates: they average across methods, and the merchants with the cheapest mix quietly subsidise everyone else.

What affects your rate?

• Volume. Higher, steadier volumes spread fixed costs and earn better pricing.
• Industry risk. Some sectors carry more fraud and dispute exposure, and pricing reflects it.
• Chargeback history. A clean dispute record is worth money; a poor one costs it.
• Method mix. As above - the blend of cards, instant EFT, vouchers and wallets your customers actually use.
• Model choice. On LekkaPay merchant accounts, your fee includes the acquiring relationship we manage for you. Bring your own MID onto the gateway and you keep your acquiring economics, negotiating card rates directly with your bank and paying LekkaPay for the platform.

What is a rolling reserve?

A rolling reserve is a portion of your settlement held back for a defined period and then released on a rolling basis, protecting against future chargebacks and refunds. Not every merchant has one - it depends on risk profile - and if one applies to you, its size and release period are stated plainly in your quote. Full definition in the glossary.

How do I get a quote?

Tell us your expected volumes and method mix via the contact page and the commercial team will quote against your actual profile - or apply directly at backoffice.lekkapay.com/apply and receive your pricing as part of onboarding.