What it actually is
ZarinPal sits between a business and Shaparak, the central bank's card payment network. Instead of contracting directly with a bank, a business uses ZarinPal's API and dashboard to collect card payments from customers.
What you pay and what you get
The first month carries no service fee, only the mandatory Shaparak fee. From month two, ZarinPal's own service fee is added on top, and the exact rate depends on account tier and transaction volume, which needs checking in the merchant dashboard at signup. That relative transparency sets it apart from some smaller rivals that keep fees vaguer.
Where it is strong and how it can improve
Its main strength is technical maturity and API documentation; developers who have also used PayPing or IDPay generally rate ZarinPal as comparable or more stable. Its weak spot is support for small accounts: during busy periods, ticket handling reportedly slows, something ZarinPal has not addressed in any official statement we could find.
What we could not verify
The exact service-fee rate per account tier shifts over time, and we could not pin down one figure that holds for every merchant as of this writing; check your own dashboard before deciding.
