specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Yoco
providerId: yoco
created: '2026-07-12'
modified: '2026-07-12'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Payments
- Fintech
- Payment Gateway
- Card Payments
- South Africa
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Yoco spend. Yoco does not charge for API access; cost is a
  per-transaction processing fee on successful card payments. For the online
  gateway the advertised rate is 2.95% (excl VAT) per local transaction with no
  monthly or setup fee, trending lower with volume. Because the fee is a
  percentage of transaction value, spend scales directly with payment volume
  rather than with API call counts - the primary cost meter is processed
  transaction value, not requests. Rates are modeled from public pricing and
  not reconciled here.
notes: >-
  Per-unit rates and VAT treatment are not reconciled; verify on the Yoco
  pricing page. The dominant, and effectively only, Yoco line item for an API
  integration is the transaction processing fee - the developer platform,
  webhooks, and test mode carry no separate charge.
sources:
- https://www.yoco.com/za/pricing/
- https://www.yoco.com/za/online-payment/
- https://developer.yoco.com/online/resources/get-started
- https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Yoco
serviceCategory: Payments and Financial Infrastructure
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Usage-Based
  billingFrequency: Per Transaction
  billingCurrency: ZAR
  chargeCategories:
  - Usage
  - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Yoco Online Payment Gateway
  ServiceCategory: Payments and Financial Infrastructure
  ProviderName: Yoco
  PublisherName: Yoco
  InvoiceIssuerName: Yoco
  BillingCurrency: ZAR
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Usage-Based
meters:
- name: transaction_processing_fee
  description: Percentage fee (2.95% excl VAT, local online) applied to each successful card transaction value.
  unit: percent_of_transaction_value
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - merchant
  - channel
  - currency
- name: transaction_count
  description: Count of successful payments processed; informational, since the fee is value-based.
  unit: transactions
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - merchant
  - channel
- name: refunded_value
  description: Value refunded to customers; reduces net processed value.
  unit: currency
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - merchant
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track processed transaction value and effective blended rate per channel (online vs in-person) using the /v1/payments read API and webhooks.
- name: Allocation
  description: Tag checkouts and payments with metadata (order/team/store) so processing fees map to internal cost centers.
- name: Optimization
  description: Consolidate online and card-machine volume to qualify for lower blended rates; pursue the automatic volume discount and custom rates above R200k/month.
- name: Accountability
  description: Reconcile Yoco settlement against processed value monthly; monitor for the automatic rate reductions Yoco applies after ~3 months.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com