Article Processing Charges
Article Processing Charge (APC) and Payment Policy
The Journal charges an Article Processing Charge (APC) of USD 90.00 per accepted article.
The APC is applicable only after the manuscript has successfully completed the journal's editorial and peer-review process and has received a formal acceptance decision.
The APC contributes toward the operational costs associated with:
- Editorial and manuscript processing
- Peer-review administration
- Copyediting and production
- Article formatting and typesetting
- DOI registration and metadata services
- Online publication and website hosting
- Digital preservation and archiving
- Maintenance of the journal's electronic publishing infrastructure
- Dissemination and accessibility of published articles
The APC does not constitute a fee for acceptance. Editorial decisions are based on the manuscript's originality, scientific quality, methodological soundness, relevance, ethical compliance, and contribution to the field.
Author fees should be publicly disclosed and made available before submission, while fee or waiver status should not influence editorial decisions. This is consistent with the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. Directory of Open Access Journals
No Payment Before Editorial Decision
Authors are not required to make any APC payment at the time of manuscript submission.
Authors should not make any payment before receiving an official acceptance decision from the journal.
The journal does not request payment as a condition for:
- Manuscript submission
- Initial editorial screening
- Peer review
- Revision of a manuscript
- Consideration of a manuscript for publication
A manuscript may be accepted, revised, or rejected independently of any APC payment.
Payment After Acceptance
Once a manuscript has received a formal acceptance decision, the corresponding author will receive the official APC payment instructions from the journal/publisher.
The APC of USD 90.00 becomes payable after acceptance and before final publication.
The article will proceed to final production and publication after the required publication formalities, including confirmation of payment where applicable, have been completed.
The journal's policy regarding payment after acceptance and before publication is disclosed to authors to ensure transparency. COPE specifically recommends that publishers clearly explain when publication-related fees are due and how collected fees are administered. publicationethics.org
Authorized Payment Policy
Direct Payment to the Publisher
For security and transparency, authors should make APC payments only through the official payment instructions issued by the journal/publisher.
Publisher:
Wissira Research Lab
Authors should not transfer APC payments to individual editors, reviewers, editorial-board members, agents, representatives, or other persons claiming to act on behalf of the journal.
No individual associated with the editorial or peer-review process is authorized to collect APC payments personally.
If an author receives payment instructions from an individual or an account that differs from the officially communicated publisher payment details, the author should verify the information with the journal before making any payment.
Accepted Payment Methods
For international authors, the publisher may provide the following payment options, subject to availability and the payment instructions issued for the particular transaction:
Credit and Debit Cards
International Visa and Mastercard payments may be accepted through the publisher's authorized online payment facility.
Razorpay
Where available, authors may make secure online payments through the publisher's authorized Razorpay payment facility.
Wise
International bank-transfer payments may be facilitated through Wise, where the publisher provides the applicable official payment details.
Remitly
Where specifically enabled by the publisher, international remittance may be made through Remitly using the official payment details supplied by the publisher.
Bank Transfer
Authors may also be provided with official bank-transfer details for payment directly to the publisher's designated account.
Institutional Invoice
Where applicable, an institution, university, research organization, or funding body may request an official invoice for payment of the APC.
Important: Authors should use only the payment account, payment link, invoice, or transaction details formally supplied by the publisher/journal.
Payment Verification
After completing payment, authors may be requested to provide the relevant payment confirmation or transaction reference to the journal's designated administrative contact.
The journal may verify:
- Payment amount
- Transaction/reference number
- Date of payment
- Payer information
- Article/manuscript identification
- Corresponding-author details
A payment receipt or acknowledgment may be issued after successful verification.
Waivers and Discounts
The journal may consider full or partial APC waivers or discounts for eligible authors, particularly researchers from low-income or lower-middle-income economies or authors demonstrating genuine financial constraints.
Requests for a waiver or discount should be made through the journal's designated process and, where possible, before or during submission/acceptance processing rather than after payment has been made.
The waiver policy should clearly identify eligibility requirements and the procedure for requesting assistance. COPE recommends transparent criteria, application procedures, and independent handling of waiver decisions so that financial circumstances do not affect editorial decisions. publicationethics.org
APC waiver or discount decisions have no influence on peer review or editorial acceptance decisions.
Editorial Independence and APC
Payment of an APC does not guarantee acceptance or publication.
Editorial decisions are made independently of financial considerations and are based on the journal's editorial policies and scholarly assessment.
In particular:
Submission → Editorial Screening → Peer Review → Revision, if required → Editorial Decision → Acceptance → APC Payment → Production → Publication
This separation between editorial decision-making and author-fee administration is an important transparency principle in scholarly publishing. Directory of Open Access Journals
Refund and Cancellation Policy
If an accepted manuscript is withdrawn before final publication, the journal may consider a refund depending on the circumstances and the stage reached in the publication process.
Where production, DOI registration, typesetting, or other publication services have already been completed, any refund may be reduced to account for costs already incurred.
Once an article has been formally published, APC refunds will generally not be available except where the publisher determines that an exceptional circumstance warrants a refund.
Any refund request must be submitted in writing by the corresponding author and should include:
- Manuscript/article identification
- Author name
- Reason for the request
- Payment reference
- Proof of payment, where applicable
Refund decisions will be communicated by the publisher.
Sponsorship and Institutional Payment
APCs may be paid by:
- Universities
- Research institutions
- Government or research agencies
- Academic departments
- Research projects
- Grant-funded projects
- Professional or academic organizations
Where an institution or funding organization agrees to pay the APC on behalf of an author, payment should be made through the official publisher invoice or payment instructions.
The source of APC funding does not influence the editorial decision.
APC Transparency
The journal publicly discloses its APC policy so that authors can understand the publication costs before submitting their manuscripts.
The journal will clearly communicate:
- APC amount
- Currency
- When the APC becomes payable
- Available waivers or discounts
- Applicable payment methods
- Refund conditions
- Any additional author charges, if applicable
Transparency regarding author fees is a recognized publishing best practice. DOAJ's transparency principles specifically call for author charges to be clearly stated and easily accessible, including waiver information. Directory of Open Access Journals
No Hidden Publication Charges
The journal does not intentionally impose undisclosed publication charges.
If any additional mandatory charge applies to a particular article type or publication service, it should be communicated to the author before the charge is incurred.
Authors should contact the journal's official administrative office if they receive a request for an unexpected payment.
Important Author Notice
Please remember:
DO NOT PAY ANY APC BEFORE YOUR MANUSCRIPT IS OFFICIALLY ACCEPTED.
DO NOT PAY ANY EDITOR, REVIEWER, AGENT, INDIVIDUAL, OR THIRD PARTY PERSONALLY.
APC PAYMENTS MUST BE MADE ONLY THROUGH THE OFFICIAL PAYMENT CHANNELS OR PUBLISHER ACCOUNT DETAILS PROVIDED BY WISSIRA RESEARCH LAB.
Editorial decisions and peer-review outcomes are completely independent of APC payment.
This type of clear fee disclosure and separation of financial administration from editorial decisions is consistent with established transparency and publication-ethics principles. Directory of Open Access Journals
