Hosted checkout

Hosted checkout is the integration most stores want: your backend creates the payment, the customer pays on checkout.lango.co.zw, and Lango handles the prompt, the polling, the timeouts and the copy — including the states that protect you from double charges.

The flow

1. Create the payment without a customer number:

   curl https://api.lango.co.zw/v1/payments \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_test_YOUR_KEY" \
     -H "Idempotency-Key: order-4417" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "amount": 10000,
       "currency": "USD",
       "method": "ecocash",
       "reference": "ORD-4417",
       "return_url": "https://yourstore.co.zw/orders/4417/thanks"
     }'

   Omitting customer.msisdn is what makes it hosted: the customer enters their own number on the checkout page, and the charge happens there.

2. Redirect the customer to the checkout_url in the response (https://checkout.lango.co.zw/c/tok_...).

3. The customer pays: they see your name, the amount, any customer-borne fee as its own line; they enter their EcoCash number; the PIN prompt lands on their phone with a visible countdown.

4. You hear the outcome on your webhook (payment.succeeded / payment.failed), and the customer is offered the return_url back to you.

Rules worth knowing

• Fulfil on the webhook, not the redirect. A customer can close the browser after paying; the webhook always arrives.
• The checkout page expires unpaid payments after their window; the payment ends expired, with an event.
• The page shows your trading name — set it in Dashboard → Settings before going live.
• The checkout token in checkout_url grants access to that payment’s checkout view and nothing else. It cannot read your account.

What checkout does that you don’t have to

• Zimbabwean number formatting and validation (263 7x ...).
• The waiting screen with countdown, “check your phone”, and the masked number.
• Timeout handling that distinguishes “declined” from “no answer yet” — the unknown discipline — with copy that stops customers paying twice.
• Works with JavaScript disabled; under 50KB; no third-party scripts for a strict CSP.