Beautiful Zimbabwe help and FAQs

Answers about trips, stays, cars, live shopping, work, trade, verification and payments on Beautiful Zimbabwe. If the answer is not here, open a ticket or email hello@beautifulzimbabwe.com.

When do I get my e-ticket?

We are not issuing e-tickets yet. Flight search shows real live fares, but ticketing is not switched on, so a flight request is a request, we come back to you to confirm and arrange payment. Nothing is ticketed automatically and no e-ticket will arrive in your inbox.

Do I need a visa for Zimbabwe?

Many nationalities get a visa on arrival (US$ 30 single entry) or apply online beforehand. Bring a passport valid for 6+ months and a return ticket. The Visit guide has the full entry checklist.

How do I buy during a live stream?

Shop Live is a private one-to-one video call with your shopper, not a broadcast, nobody else is on it. You see what they see, tell them what to pick, and they send the total before anything is bought. There is no pinned product card and no live stock counter.

What if I miss a drop?

There are no scheduled broadcasts and no reminder notifications, we have no push notification system at all. You book a shopper for a time that suits you at /shop-live/request, and they call you.

When do I get paid?

The hirer funds the job before it starts: your rate plus a 10% fee that the hirer pays, never you. When the hirer signs off, your full rate goes to your Beautiful Zimbabwe wallet, or to your EcoCash or bank when the payout is sent. Card and EcoCash funding are being switched on; if a job says "Not funded yet", nothing is held: agree payment before you travel. We also record the agreed rate, your GPS and photo check-in, and the sign-off.

What does it cost to post a gig?

Posting is free. To fund a job you pay the workers' rates plus a 10% fee, shown as its own line; card and EcoCash funding are being switched on. The money is held until you sign off, then the workers get their full rates. Cancel before check-in or a no-show, and that share comes back to you, fee included.

What if there’s a dispute?

Open a ticket with your gig reference and we will hear both sides. That worker's share stays held until our team decides. We decide on the record: the agreed rate, the GPS and photo check-in and the sign-off. If a worker does not show up, their share goes back to the hirer.

Do you hold my money in escrow?

Not a licensed escrow service, but yes, we hold the payout. Card checkout through Stripe is being switched on; once it is, your card payment goes into the Beautiful Zimbabwe account, and the seller, host or shopper is only paid out after you confirm delivery (or, for a stay or car, after check-out), when the payout desk releases it. A dispute freezes that release. Anything arranged off-platform is between you and them: for a large order, agree terms in writing and use a lawyer or a registered trust account, the same rule we apply to property.

What are the emergency numbers?

Police 995 · Medical 994 · Fire 993, free from any phone in Zimbabwe, no airtime needed. Save them before you travel. They’re printed in the footer of every page so they’re never more than a scroll away.

Someone asked me for money. Now what?

Stop, don’t send anything, and report the chat. Romance scams and “advance fee” tricks follow the same script: urgency, secrecy, a payment you can’t trace. Our team confirms within hours whether an account is fraudulent.

What does the green check badge mean?

A person reviewed the ID. Someone on the Beautiful Zimbabwe review desk compared the government ID document and the selfie that were uploaded and confirmed they belong to the same person, there is no automated face scan or liveness check yet. On a worker's passport the same check reads "ID checked by our team" and shows only on workers our team has approved.

How long does verification take?

ID review is done by a person, usually the same day and longer over weekends. Business and exporter checks: 2–5 working days depending on references. Status lives on your profile.

How do I pay?

Card checkout through Stripe (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, billed in USD) and EcoCash, OneMoney and InnBucks through Paynow are being switched on. A payment option appears at checkout only once it works; if you do not see it, it is not available yet and nothing is charged.

What are the fees, lane by lane?

Stays and cars: 10% service fee on the base price, shown in the quote with the deposit before you pay. Flights, experiences and table bookings: 5% on the fare or price. Shop orders: no service fee, shipping US$18, free from US$150, express US$55. Live shopping: items at the till price, a 5% service fee (minimum US$2) and US$3.50 delivery, each shown before you pay; tips are optional. BZ Food: US$3.50 delivery on its own line and no service fee; restaurants pay 10% on delivery orders and 5% on pickup. Work Today: 10% platform fee paid by the hirer on top of the workers' pay; the worker gets the full rate. Exporter access: Tier A US$79, Tier B US$249, Tier C US$799. There is no membership fee for the marketplace. Full detail on the Terms page.

How do refunds work?

Under the Zimbabwe Consumer Protection Act you can cancel an online purchase without a reason within 7 days of receiving it or booking it, and we refund in full within 14 days (you only carry the direct cost of sending goods back). Cancel from the booking, session or order page, or use the contact form with your reference. The review desk decides on the proof trail and tells you in writing. Approved refunds go back to the card or mobile wallet you paid with: Stripe refunds show in 5–10 business days, Paynow refunds follow EcoCash/OneMoney/InnBucks timing. The windows for each lane are on the Refund & Cancellation Policy page at /refunds.

When do payouts land?

Payouts are released by the review desk after proof: the store against the till receipt, the shopper after the handover photo or video, the host after check-out photos. There is no fixed payout day; most releases happen within 5 business days of the proof arriving. Hosts and shoppers abroad can connect Stripe to receive the transfer directly. Instant Work pay is held when the hirer funds the job and released to the worker at sign-off.

Bookings & refunds, in plain language

You pay in USD at checkout and the fee is itemised before you pay. Cancellation windows and refund amounts for every lane are on the Refund & Cancellation Policy at /refunds, together with your 7-day right to cancel an online purchase without a reason; approved refunds return to the card or mobile wallet you paid with. If we can’t deliver what you booked because of something on our side, you are refunded in full, service fee included. The full agreement is at /terms.

Your data & privacy

We collect what each lane needs, your email for the magic-link sign-in, booking and delivery details, ID documents for hosts and renters (stored privately, seen only by the review desk), and never sell it. Stripe and Paynow handle card and mobile-wallet details; we never see a full card number. The Privacy Policy at /privacy lists everything, including retention periods; delete your account from Settings or via /data-deletion.

Community rules

Be real, be kind, pay what you promise. Fraud, harassment and counterfeit listings end accounts. One strike for scams, three for smaller stuff, and every decision can be appealed to a human.