FAQs

In a nutshell, Samoa Payments offers digital payment solutions that allow businesses, organizations, or even individuals to accept credit card payments into their Samoan bank account. In other words, Samoa Payments makes the credit card payment gateway easily and readily available to anyone. Users access this payment gateway using our Payment Tools inside our Client Portal, which create online payment pages that enable transactions through various means, such as BuyNow Links, Online/Email Invoicing, Fundraiser Pages, QR Codes, and more. Please visit the Home page for a more detailed description of how Samoa Payments works.

Samoa Payments is completely free and easy for sellers and donation solicitors to sign-up.  Once signed up you have free access to all of our Payment Tools that help you transact with your customers. The only fees incurred when using Samoa Payments are transaction fees charged on each purchase or donation made.

*If a client requests a fully integrated shopping cart into their existing website, additional set-up fees may apply.

For customers (buyers/donors) there is a WST$3 + 2% transaction fee added to the total amount charged on their credit card. For clients (sellers/donor recipients) there are no transaction fees from Samoa Payments, but there is a 4% credit card charge by ANZ bank on all transactions. This charge applies to all overseas credit card purchases made in Samoa (e.g. through EFTPOS) and is not unique to Samoa Payments.  This 4% charge is deducted from the amount the client receives. Knowing this fee is incurred, clients should price their products accordingly.

For example, if the sale price of an item is $100, a transaction fee of $5 ($3 + 2% of the total) would be added to the total and the customer would pay $105 at checkout. Of that $105, approximately $5 would go to Samoa Payments (the $3 fee plus 2% of $100), $4 would go to the bank/credit card company (4% of $100), and $96 would go to the seller of the item.

The Samoa Payments fee maxes out at $50, so for transactions more than WST $2,350, the fee will remain WST $50.

No, there is no sign-up process for customers or donors. Once the business or organization is signed up to Samoa Payments, their customers/donors only need to be able to pay with a credit card.

Yes, your client information, including bank details are securely stored on the Samoa Payments database and not shared with anyone. Furthermore, Samoa Payments only has the ability to forward payment into your account and does not have any ability to withdraw funds from your account. Peruse our Privacy Policy for more information.

For purchases made using sales-oriented Payment Tools, such as Payment Links, Invoices, BuyNow, Catalog, School Fees and QuickPay Payments, settlement typically occurs within 1-2 business days.

For donations made using Fundraiser Pages and QuickPay Donations, settlement may take up to 10 business days due to additional security measures applied to donations.

All payments and donations receive immediate notifications for both Client and Customer, so the exchange of goods and services or acknowledgement of donations can take place immediately.

Yes, customer credit card information is processed through the secure ANZ Bank eGate payment gateway. Neither Samoa Payments nor the seller/donor recipient will ever see customer credit card information. Peruse our Privacy Policy for more information.

Any Visa or Mastercard will be accepted, this includes Visa Debit Cards from local banks in Samoa. Local debit cards do, however, incur the same 4% credit card fee as overseas credit cards as they are processed through the ANZ Bank eGate payment gateway.

For the sake of being consistent with terminology, Samoa Payments considers the business/organization/seller/fundraiser organizer who is signed up and using our Payment Tools as the “client,” while the buyer who is using their credit card to pay for the product or service of the seller, or the person making a donation, is called the “customer.”

Yes and yes. When you sign up as a client, you will complete registration under your main business or organization in the Client Tab inside the Client Portal. On that Tab you also have the ability to add additional businesses or organizations to your account.  For example, you could have Joe’s Car Rental and Joe’s Cake Shop as separate businesses under your account.  When you use Payment Tools, simply select the correct Business/Organization from the dropdown menu when creating a new entry.

Similarly, you can also add users to your account if, for example, you have an assistant that helps you run your business. These sub-users under your main account can have limited access to your account and cannot alter core business details, such as banking information. They also only have access to the businesses you enable for them.  To continue with the example above, if Joe creates user access for an employee at the Cake Shop, this employee does not have access to the Payment Tools for Joe’s Car Rental business.

Getting started with Samoa Payments is incredibly simple. All you need is an internet connection, an email address and a local Samoan bank account. Ready?  Sign-up now!

No. Anyone can use Samoa Payments. Samoa Payments is designed to help both formal businesses, informal businesses and solo entrepreneurs start selling to an expanded customer base by being able to accept credit card payments. Also, organizations, village committees, families, and even individuals can use Samoa Payments to fundraise by accepting donations via credit card.

No. You can have an account at any of the four main commercial banks in Samoa (ANZ, BSP, NBS, SCB). Your existing bank account should work just fine.

No. When using Samoa Payments, you market and sell your products in Samoan Tala (WST) and you receive WST into your local bank account.

Relax, you can try them all and only use what works for you and your business or organization.  Sending payment requests and invoices is incredibly easy and a good place to start, especially if your sale involves discussion or negotiation with your customer.  If you promote products over social media, consider inserting a BuyNow link on your post to generate instant sales, or create a Catalog Page in our portal (which can show all of your products on one page) and link to that in your posts. If you sell goods face to face, you want to have your QuickPay QR code ready in case any of your customers want to scan and pay by credit card. Organizations can also use QuickPay to direct donors to a quick and easy way to make donations. If you want to fundraise for a cause, start a fundraiser page. Schools can insert fee details on the School Fee Tab and start collecting school fee payments online. There is no set-up or user fee, so you can try out Tools whenever and however you like.