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Overview

The Bila Payment Gateway plugin connects your WooCommerce store to Bila, letting you accept real-time mobile money payments from customers in Zambia. When a customer checks out, a push payment prompt is sent directly to their phone.
The plugin is free and open source. Download it from the official WordPress plugin directory: wordpress.org/plugins/devdraft-bila-payment-gateway

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Watch: How to Accept Mobile Money on WooCommerce | Bila Plugin Setup

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Supported Operators

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Features

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Requirements

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Installation & Setup

1

Download the plugin

Visit the Bila plugin page on WordPress.org and download the plugin ZIP file.
2

Install the plugin

Upload the plugin folder to /wp-content/plugins/ on your server, or install the ZIP directly from your WordPress dashboard via Plugins > Add New.
3

Activate the plugin

Go to the Plugins screen on your WordPress dashboard and activate the plugin.
4

Confirm WooCommerce is active

Ensure WooCommerce is installed and active. The plugin will display a notice if WooCommerce is not detected.
5

Enable Bila in WooCommerce

Go to WooCommerce > Settings > Payments and enable Bila - Mobile Money.
6

Enter your API credentials

Enter your Bila API key and Wallet ID, then click Save changes.You can find both in your Bila merchant dashboard.
7

Configure your webhook

In your Bila merchant dashboard, create a new webhook with the following settings:
The signing secret is required. Incoming webhooks are rejected if it is not configured. Without webhooks, orders may remain on hold until the thank-you page polling confirms payment.
Start with Sandbox mode to test the full payment flow before switching to live. Toggle the mode in the plugin settings under WooCommerce > Settings > Payments > Bila - Mobile Money.

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How It Works

When a customer checks out and selects Bila Mobile Money as their payment method:
  1. The customer enters their mobile phone number and selects their network operator.
  2. Their account name is resolved in real time before the order is placed.
  3. A push payment prompt is sent to their phone.
  4. The customer approves the payment on their phone.
  5. Bila sends a webhook to your store to update the order status automatically.
  6. If the webhook is delayed, the thank-you page polls Bila as a fallback.

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Data Sent to Bila

The plugin sends the following data to Bila’s servers during checkout:
Your data is governed by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

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FAQ

Yes. Sign up at usebila.com to obtain your API key and Wallet ID.
This gateway supports Zambian Kwacha (ZMW) mobile money collections only.
Yes. The plugin is fully compatible with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS).
The thank-you page automatically polls Bila for the payment status as a fallback. The order will be updated once the payment is confirmed.