Split Payments

Split payments let you share settlement with third-party vendors via subaccounts.

What is a subaccount?

A subaccount stores the external bank info for a vendor/partner. When you split a payment, part of the funds go to the subaccount’s bank account.

Typical use: platforms and marketplaces sharing revenue with providers.

Create a subaccount

Create via Dashboard or API.

Endpoint https://api.chapa.co/v1/subaccount
Method POST
Authorization Bearer CHAPA_SECRET_KEY

Body fields

• bank_code, account_number — Bank details (bank_code from Get Banks endpoint)
• business_name — Vendor/merchant name
• account_name — Name matching bank record
• split_type — percentage or flat
• split_value — Commission amount (e.g., 0.03 for 3%, or 25 for 25 ETB)

If successful, the response includes a subaccount id you will use when initiating transactions.

Initialize a split payment

Use Initialize Transaction API or Direct Charge API.

Endpoints

• https://api.chapa.co/v1/transaction/initialize
• https://api.chapa.co/v1/charges?type={payment_method}

Method POST
Authorization Bearer CHAPA_SECRET_KEY

Override split defaults per transaction

You can override split_type and split_value in the subaccounts object when charging:

• split_type: flat or percentage
• split_value: amount or percentage (e.g., 0.03 for 3%, 25 for 25 ETB)

Example (100 ETB total, fees 6 ETB):

• If split_type = flat and split_value = 25, subaccount gets 69 ETB; you keep the remainder after fees.