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Getting started and accounts
Opening, verifying and closing an account.
How long does it take to apply?
You can apply in about 10 minutes, online, with no in-person visits. Approval depends on your identity and business checks.
What do I need to apply?
Individuals need a government ID, proof of address and a selfie for verification. Businesses need registration details, ownership information and proof of business activity. Download the checklist (PDF)
Can I hold other currencies?
Merchant plan customers can hold several currencies. Business and Merchant customers can open a UK account to receive pounds.
Is there an account for students?
Yes. Eligible students can open an Olympian Student account through the Olympian Program. Olympus verifies student status, and students studying abroad can add Olympian Global. Read about the Olympian Program
Can I close my account?
Yes, at any time. You can also ask for your personal data to be erased. Close an account or erase your data
Where do I find my account number?
Open your account in web banking. The account details, including the number, are shown there. If you want someone abroad to pay you, use Wire details, which shows the banking coordinates for receiving international transfers.
Does Olympus support two-step sign-in?
Yes. You can add an authenticator app and passkeys under Settings, then Security.
Will Athena or the team ever ask for my password or a sign-in code?
Never. We do not ask for your password, your two-step codes or your card PIN, by email, phone, WhatsApp or chat. If someone does, it is not us. Stop and tell us.
I see a payment I do not recognise. What should I do?
Freeze the card if it was a card payment, change your password, and contact us straight away with the date, amount and merchant. We will look into it with you. See Keep your account safe.
Is my money protected?
Your money is held and safeguarded in line with the regulatory position of the entity you bank with. That differs between Botswana and the United Kingdom, so please read our regulatory status rather than rely on a summary.
Sending, receiving and fees
Payments, international transfers, statements and limits.
Is there a monthly fee?
Basic accounts are free. Business is BWP 149 a month and Merchant is BWP 399 a month. Accepting payments and sending money are charged per transaction.
Who pays the fee on a transfer to another person?
The sender pays the fee and the recipient receives the exact amount sent to them. The fee is shown before you confirm.
What do Olympus Go and CashPoint cost?
Tap to Pay, card and Apple Pay payments on Olympus Go cost 0.5% plus BWP 6 per transaction, paid by the customer. QR codes are free. Scanning a QR from your balance and getting cash carry 2% plus BWP 6, paid by the sender. Recipients always receive the exact amount.
Can fees change?
Yes. Fees are region based and can change on at least 30 days’ written notice.
Are there limits on what I can send?
While Olympus is in the Bank of Botswana Regulatory Sandbox, a single transaction is capped at BWP 5,000 and an account balance at BWP 20,000. The Bank of Botswana may revise these limits.
How do I stop a recurring payment?
Open Scheduled payments and pause it, which you can undo, or delete it if you do not need it any more.
How long does an international transfer take?
It depends on the route. Some corridors run in real time or same day, others take longer. The corridors page shows the settlement time for each country.
Read the full guide: International transfers and wire details
Who pays the fee on a transfer?
The sender pays the fee and the recipient receives the exact amount sent. The fee is shown before you confirm.
Read the full guide: International transfers and wire details
Where do I get a bank statement or proof of account?
Under Statements in web banking you can download a monthly statement and make a custom export.
How much does it cost to send money?
It depends on the type of payment and your plan. The fee for your payment is shown before you confirm it. The published schedule is on the fees page.
Is there a limit on how much I can send or hold?
While Olympus is in the Bank of Botswana Regulatory Sandbox, a single transaction is capped at BWP 5,000 and an account balance at BWP 20,000. The Bank of Botswana may revise these. You can also set your own team limits.
Cards and spending controls
Cards, approvals and limits.
What is the difference between a virtual and a physical card?
A virtual card exists only as details in the app, so you can use it online straight away. A physical card is a plastic card for in-person payments and cash. Both are debit cards drawing on the account they are issued from.
My card was declined. Why?
The common reasons are that the card is frozen, the account balance is too low, or a payment rule blocked it, such as a daily limit. Open the card and the payment in the app to see which. If it is still unclear, ask Athena or contact support.
My card is frozen and I did not freeze it. Why?
Most often it is a receipt rule: a card payment needed a receipt and none was added. Add the receipt, or ask an owner or admin to waive it, and the card unfreezes.
Why is my payment waiting for approval?
Your business has an approval threshold and the amount is above it, so an owner or admin has to approve it first. It appears under Approvals for them. Owners and admins can send without approval.
Who can change payment rules?
Only owners and admins. Members and viewers can see that a rule applies but cannot change it.
Why was my payment blocked as over the daily limit?
The total your team has sent today plus this payment would go over the daily limit. It can be sent tomorrow, or an owner or admin can raise the limit under Settings, then Payment rules.
Cash and CashPoint
Putting cash in and taking it out.
What is Olympus CashPoint?
A network where every Olympus merchant can be an agent, so customers can put cash in and take cash out close to where they are.
What can an agent do today?
Cash in, where a customer hands over cash and their account is credited. Cash out by code, where the customer generates a code in the app. Cash out by tap or ID, without a code. Cashback, where extra cash is added to a normal purchase. And cash vouchers, so people without an Olympus account can collect cash with an SMS or USSD code. Bill payment and airtime are planned.
What does cash out cost?
Getting cash carries 2% plus BWP 6, paid by the sender. Recipients receive the exact amount.
When do MobiCash and GoRemitt launch?
How long is a cash-out code valid?
30 minutes. After that it expires and the money is returned to your account.
I made a cash-out code by mistake. Can I cancel it?
Yes, while it is unused. Cancel it in the app and the held money returns to your account straight away.
What does cash out cost?
The fee and the total taken from your account are shown before you confirm, and the recipient receives the exact amount. See pricing.
Receipts, orders, invoices and bills
The paperwork behind your spending.
Why does my receipt say it is not matched?
We could not tie it to one payment with confidence, for example because the amount, date or merchant differs. It waits in your inbox. Open it and choose the payment it belongs to, or ask Athena to help.
Can I send receipts by WhatsApp?
Yes. Verify your phone number under settings, switch WhatsApp intake on for your account, then send a photo from that number.
Where is my bill email address?
Under Payments in the Bill Pay inbox, and under Settings, then Company. It ends in @ap.olympuspay.co and is unique to your business.
A supplier emailed a bill to my address but it is not in my inbox. Why?
Check Needs a look under the inbox first: a file we could not read, or one that was not a supplier bill, is listed there with the reason. If the address was switched off or replaced, mail sent to the old one is ignored. Ask the supplier to resend it to your current address.
Does emailing a bill pay it?
No. It is only recorded and checked. You decide whether and when to pay it.
Can another business see the bills sent to mine?
No. Each address belongs to one business, and the bills sent to it are visible only to that business's team.
Why did I get a warning on a supplier invoice?
Something did not match the purchase order: usually an amount above the order, or supplier bank details that differ. Check with the supplier, using contact details you already trust, before you pay.
Athena and support
Your assistant, and reaching a person.
Does Athena move money on its own?
No. When you ask Athena to do something, it prepares the action and shows you a confirmation card with every detail. Nothing happens until you press Confirm. Payments then go through the same route as a payment you make yourself.
What can Athena see?
Only what you can already see in your Olympus account, and only the parts a question needs. It reads your accounts, transactions, cards, invoices, recipients, approvals, budgets and team the same way the app does, under your own sign-in and your role.
Do my payment limits and approvals still apply?
Yes. A payment Athena prepares is subject to the same daily limit, approval threshold, permissions and checks as one you send from the Send screen. If it needs an admin’s approval, it waits for one.
Can Athena read a receipt or an invoice?
Yes. Attach photos, screenshots or PDFs and Athena reads the vendor, date, items, tax and total, checks the sums, and offers next steps: match a receipt to its payment and attach it, categorise the spend, save a supplier, or raise an invoice. You confirm each action.
Can Athena be wrong?
It can. Athena uses large language models, which can misread or misstate things. It works from your live data rather than guessing, but check important figures against your accounts, and review every action before you confirm it.
Who can use it?
Athena is in Olympus web banking for signed-in customers. What it will do for a person depends on their role: for example, only owners and admins can change payment rules or invite people. Ask us about availability in other Olympus apps.
Can Athena send money without asking me?
No. It prepares the payment and shows you a confirmation card. Nothing is sent until you confirm, and your normal limits and approvals still apply.
Can I talk to Athena instead of typing?
Yes. In the Athena page you can use the microphone and Athena replies aloud. You can also just type.
What are your support hours?
Athena is available at any hour. Our team answers the phone Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm Central Africa Time, on +267 391 3289 or +267 391 3328, and email is read every working day.
How do I make a complaint?
Write to us through the contact page and say it is a complaint in the first line, or read the complaints procedure.
Global banking and students
Money across borders, and the Olympian Program.
What can I do with Global Banking today?
Open a UK account, hold several currencies on the Merchant plan and send international transfers with the fee and rate shown first. Real-time worldwide payments to more countries are planned.
Which countries can I send money to?
Olympus has live corridors to Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, on real-time and same-day (T+0) rails, with more in Southern Africa opening in stages. See every country, rail and settlement time
Does Olympus give foreign exchange advice?
No. Olympus shows exchange rates and quotes for payments. It does not offer investment, treasury or foreign exchange advice.
Where can I see the rates?
The exchange rates page has a transfer and fee calculator. Rates shown there are indicative. A quote is shown to you before you confirm a transaction.
Who can become an Olympian?
Eligible students enrolled at recognised educational institutions. Olympus verifies student status rather than relying only on a declaration.
Is a personal email address enough to prove I am a student?
No. Where your institution provides student email addresses, you will be expected to use it for verification. Personal addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook do not independently establish student status. Where there is no student email, Olympus may provide another way to verify.
What if I study abroad?
Olympian Global is designed for eligible students studying outside their home country. Additional information may be required, and international services depend on availability, regulatory requirements and the jurisdictions involved.
What happens when I graduate?
Your financial relationship with Olympus does not have to end. The program is designed to move with you from student to graduate, professional and business owner.
Can a parent, university or scholarship provider fund students?
That is what Olympian Sponsor is designed for: funding individual students or groups, scheduling payments, and tracking and reconciling disbursements.
Developers
Keys, sandbox and webhooks.
Can a sandbox key move real money?
No. Sandbox keys start with olp_test_ and move no real money. Live keys start with olp_live_.
What if I retry a request and it runs twice?
Send an Idempotency-Key with write requests. A retry with the same key returns the original result instead of creating a second payment.
Security, privacy and trust
How we protect you, and how to check.
Does Olympus hold SOC 2, ISO 27001 or PCI DSS certification?
The specialist providers Olympus builds on hold SOC 2, ISO 27001 and PCI DSS attestations. Those attestations belong to the providers. This site does not claim them for Olympus itself.
How do I report a security vulnerability?
Write to security@olympuspay.co. The vulnerability disclosure policy below explains what to include and the rules for testing.
How do I check whether the API is up?
The status page runs live checks from your browser against Olympus services. It shows what your network can reach now, not historical uptime.
How do I ask for a copy of my data, or for it to be erased?
Write to privacy@olympuspay.co, or use the account closure and erasure page. We verify your identity first.
Which version of a document is current?
Each document shows its version and publication date. The versions in this library are the current ones.
About Olympus
Who we are and where we operate.
What is Olympus Pay?
Olympus Pay is a financial technology company. Financial, banking-type or identity services are provided through regulated Olympus entities and, where applicable, through authorised and licensed partners in accordance with applicable laws, depending on region.
Olympus offers business banking, payments, cards and merchant services on one platform, with APIs for teams that build on top.
Where does Olympus operate?
In Botswana through Olympus Pay Proprietary Limited, and in the United Kingdom through Olympus Pay Limited. Products and features vary by region. Olympus UK
How do I open an account?
Apply online. It takes about 10 minutes and needs no in-person visit. You verify your identity and upload a few documents. See what you will need
Is Olympus regulated?
In Botswana, Olympus Pay Proprietary Limited is an admitted member of the Bank of Botswana Regulatory Sandbox. In the United Kingdom, services are provided through an FCA-authorised and regulated partner. Regulatory status
How do I contact Olympus?
Use the contact page for sales, partnerships, developers and support. Existing customers can also reach support@olympuspay.co.
When is the H3 Terminal Kiosk available?
It launches on 14 February 2027. Register your interest on this page and we will contact you.
How much does it cost?
Buy it once for BWP 8,120. Or pay a BWP 812 deposit and then 12 monthly payments of BWP 609. Or rent it for BWP 250 a month.
What does it cost to process a payment?
2.6% plus BWP 6 per tap, dip or swipe on the H3 Free plan.
Which cards does it accept?
Contactless, chip and magstripe cards.
Did not find your answer?
Ask Athena with the help button at the bottom right, or write to the team and you will get a reply from a real mailbox.