Payment gateways in Zambia have grown fast alongside mobile money, which now sits at the center of how most people in the country send and receive funds. A shopper in Lusaka might pay with Airtel Money, a customer in Kitwe might reach for MTN Mobile Money, and someone booking a hotel online might pull out a Visa card. A business selling online needs to accept all of these without turning any customer away at checkout, and that is the gap a good payment gateway fills.
Choosing between providers comes down to a handful of everyday questions. Does the gateway support Zamtel Kwacha alongside the bigger mobile money networks? How fast does it pay out, and into what kind of account? Does it handle only local Kwacha, or can it settle in US dollars too? The gateways below cover different needs, from small retailers running a single storefront to larger operations processing payments across multiple African markets.
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Flutterwave Zambia
Flutterwave has built a name across Africa for letting merchants sell both locally and to customers abroad without juggling separate systems. It supports MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, Zamtel Kwacha, Visa, Mastercard, bank transfer, and Apple Pay, giving Zambian shoppers a wide set of ways to pay.
Payouts settle the next day into local Zambian bank accounts or mobile money wallets, which keeps cash flow predictable for smaller businesses. Flutterwave also offers no code payment links, so a business owner can start collecting payments without writing a single line of code. For those who want a full online storefront, Flutterwave Store builds one directly, and ready made plugins connect the gateway to WooCommerce, Shopify, and Magento for merchants already running a website on those platforms.
Pesapal Zambia
Pesapal has built a solid footprint across East and Southern Africa, and Zambian merchants get the benefit of that regional experience. It accepts MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, Zamtel Kwacha, Visa, and Mastercard, covering the payment methods most Zambian customers already use day to day.
Settlements move automatically into local bank accounts or registered mobile money accounts, cutting out manual payout requests. Pesapal stands out for its e-commerce API integrations and electronic invoicing tools, useful for businesses that bill clients regularly, not just one off payments. It also builds dedicated tools for hospitality, events, and retail, sectors where bookings, ticket sales, and in person checkout often need different features from a standard online store.
Also Read: Buy Now Pay Later, BNPL Platforms in Zambia
DPO Pay (Direct Pay Online)
DPO Pay has become a common choice among travel, tourism, and cross border e-commerce businesses operating in Zambia. It supports MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, Zamtel Kwacha, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, giving international travelers a familiar way to pay when booking through Zambian businesses.
Settlements go out in multiple currencies, supporting both local ZMW accounts and USD accounts, which counts for a business that earns in dollars from foreign customers but also needs Kwacha for local operating costs. DPO Pay includes built-in fraud prevention tools as well, and it lets businesses process international credit card transactions smoothly, an important feature for hotels, tour operators, and export businesses handling cards from outside Africa.
Tingg (by Cellulant)
Tingg positions itself as an enterprise grade digital payment gateway, and it earns that label by connecting mobile network operators and commercial banks across Zambia into one checkout system. It supports MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, Zamtel Kwacha, Visa, Mastercard, and direct bank transfers.
Payouts settle directly into merchant bank accounts. What makes Tingg a good fit for larger operations is the single checkout interface it offers for both online and in person payments, letting a business run one system across a website, an app, and a physical point of sale, without stitching together separate tools for each channel.
PawaPay
PawaPay takes a different approach from the other gateways on this list by focusing entirely on mobile money and leaving cards out of the picture. It supports MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, and Zamtel Kwacha, built around an API first design aimed at developers.
Settlements happen in real time or in batches, going directly to mobile money merchant wallets or bank accounts depending on how a business sets things up. PawaPay specializes in mobile wallet collections and high volume automated disbursements, along with handling refunds, all without needing traditional card network infrastructure. This makes it a good option for businesses whose customers pay almost entirely through mobile money and who need to send out a large number of payments regularly, such as payroll or supplier payments.
Kazang (Kazang Pay)
Kazang has grown into one of the largest physical and digital merchant service providers in Zambia, with a footprint that covers both online and offline retail. It accepts MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, Zamtel Kwacha, debit and credit cards, and its own Kazang Wallet.
Settlement goes directly into Kazang merchant wallets or linked commercial bank accounts. Kazang’s Android-based point of sale terminals give local retailers a physical checkout device alongside digital checkout APIs. This combination suits businesses that sell both in a physical shop and online, since it keeps both channels under one payment system, no need to run two separate setups.
The gateway that fits your business in Zambia depends mostly on how your customers pay and where they are located. If you sell mainly to local customers through mobile money and want a simple setup, Flutterwave or Pesapal cover most of what you need. Businesses in travel, tourism, or billing international customers in dollars will get more value from DPO Pay, while larger operations juggling multiple sales channels might lean toward Tingg for its single checkout system.
If your business runs almost entirely on mobile money and needs frequent payouts, PawaPay is built for that. Retailers who need both a physical till and an online store should look closely at Kazang. Whichever you choose, check the payout schedule and supported payment methods against how your own customers actually pay before committing.
