FAQ

Account and onboarding

How long does it take to open an account?

Sign-up takes a few minutes. The KYC review outcome is communicated once your file is complete (company registration documents, director's ID, bank account details). See Integrating in Sierra Leone.

Which documents for KYC?

Three progressive verification levels determine which operations you can perform:

Level	Documents
1	Verified phone number
2	Level 1 + ID document + selfie
3	Level 2 + bank account details + proof of address

The limits for each level are shown in your dashboard once the account is activated.

My KYC file was rejected — what now?

The dashboard shows the reason. Upload the corrected documents in the KYC section. No penalty, no waiting period.

Pricing

How much does SOAMTAR cost?

Fees and commercial terms are set out in your merchant agreement and visible in your dashboard settings.

When do I get paid?

Settlement timing depends on the payment channel. The effective timing is shown in your dashboard, where you can also set a minimum settlement threshold. Settlements go to your Sierra Leone bank account (account number — Sierra Leone does not use IBANs).

Technical

Why should I send an Idempotency-Key?

To avoid charging a customer twice after a network timeout. Without an explicit key, SOAMTAR derives one from your merchant_ref; sending your own key gives you precise control. See Idempotency.

What should my webhook endpoint return?

Any 2xx within a few seconds. The body is ignored. Any other code, or a timeout, triggers a retry.

How many webhook retries?

At most 5 attempts: the first delivery, then retries after 60 s, 5 min, 30 min and 2 h. You can resend a delivery from the dashboard. After a number of consecutive failures the endpoint is suspended and you receive an email.

How do I resend a webhook manually?

Dashboard → Webhooks → Logs → click Resend on the line.

Can I have several webhook endpoints?

Yes. Each endpoint has its own secret and its own event filter.

What if I lose my webhook secret?

Rotate it from the dashboard; the new secret is shown once. You can also retrieve it through GET /v1/webhooks/{endpoint_id}/secret with your secret key (OTP-protected in live mode from the dashboard).

Do test and live keys see the same data?

No. Each key only sees objects of its own mode: a test key cannot read a live object and vice versa.

Can I replay a sandbox transaction in production?

No. The same merchant_ref can exist in both environments (uniqueness is scoped by mode), but the identifiers are distinct.

Which phone number format?

E.164: +232 followed by the 8-digit national number, e.g. +23276123456. No spaces or dashes. Payouts require the leading +.

Business cases

How do I use a hosted checkout without a backend?

Create a payment link from the dashboard. You can share the URL directly (WhatsApp, SMS, email).

Can a customer in Sierra Leone pay in USD or EUR?

The API accepts SLE, USD and EUR. Orange Money Sierra Leone collects in leones; when the requested currency differs, the exchange rate is frozen at initiation.

How many splits per transaction?

Several beneficiaries are supported. For a large number of beneficiaries, contact support.

Can I refund an Orange Money payment?

Yes. Call POST /v1/refunds with the payment's transaction_id (omit amount for a full refund, or pass a smaller amount for a partial refund). SOAMTAR credits the money back to the payer's Orange Money number and debits it from your balance. The credit is asynchronous: listen for refund.success / refund.failed. Your API key needs the can_refund scope. See Refunds.

Can I run a subscription paid with Orange Money?

Not with automatic debits yet: mobile money tokenisation is not available. Subscriptions can run with a payment request sent to the customer at each billing cycle.

How do I cancel a subscription?

DELETE /v1/subscriptions/{id} (immediate) or ?at_period_end=true (at the end of the current cycle).

Compliance

Is SOAMTAR regulated?

SOAMTAR operates in Sierra Leone with Orange Money Sierra Leone as its payment channel and applies AML controls (transaction monitoring, suspicious activity reporting). Regulatory information is available on request for institutional merchants.

Are merchant funds protected?

Funds awaiting settlement are tracked in dedicated accounts, separate from the company's operating funds.

Does SOAMTAR store Orange Money passwords?

No. SOAMTAR uses Orange Money's merchant API with dedicated credentials, never your payers' PINs or credentials.

Help

How do I contact support?

• Email: support@so-amtar.com
• Dashboard chat: available during business hours (Freetown time, GMT)