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South African payment processors

Comparison table of 5 popular payment gateways in South Africa:

Payment GatewayTransaction FeePayment Methods AcceptedAdditional Features
PayFast 2.9% + R1.50 per transaction Credit cards, EFT, Zapper, SnapScan, Masterpass Invoicing, subscriptions, cash advances
Yoco 2.95% - 3.45% based on volume Visa, Mastercard Analytics dashboard, integrates with ecommerce platforms
Paygate 0.25% - 3.5% based on volume Credit cards, EFT, Zapper, SnapScan, PayPal Real-time payments, no merchant account required for Paygate Plus
Peach Payments 2.95% + R1.50 per transaction Credit cards, EFT, Masterpass, Mobicred Enterprise package with multi-currency payments
iKhokha 2.85% Excl VAT discount on volume Visa/Mastercard debit/credit card and EFT’s 3D secure and PCI compliant and 2 business day settlements
The above table summarises the key details like transaction fees, supported payment methods, and additional features offered by each gateway. This allows easy comparison across the different options to determine which gateway is the best fit for your business. The transaction volume also plays a role in the fee structure for some gateways.

PayFast

payfast south african payment gateway logo
One of the best alternative payment gateways is PayFast and they offer EFT and Credit/Debit Card transaction integration. PayFast offer no setup fees or monthly fees, and only 2.9% per transaction + R1.50 per transaction. Visit PayFast

Paygate

Paygate accepts Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and Diners Club.
PayGate offers Payweb, PayXML, and Paybill, all of which allow customers to offer online bill payment. Visit Paygate

Ikhokha

iKhokha is a fintech company offering card machines, online payment solutions, and business tools to help businesses accept payments securely and grow, with a focus on contactless and prepaid options. iKhokha's payment integration is widely regarded as among the best in South Africa, providing competitive fees and a cost-effective solution for businesses, boasting one of the lowest transaction rates in Mzansi at 2.85% (excluding VAT) . Visit ikhokha

Peach Payments

peach_payments payment gateway
Netcash provide payment solutions to businesses and organizations of all kinds.
The corporation delivers outstanding payment services to a diverse range of businesses and their requirements.
Sage Online Tools, Woocommerce, WordPress, Magento, cs.cart, Prestashop, and nopCommerce are all compatible with the Netcash Pay Now Gateway.
Retailers may offer their consumers more payment options, increasing payment frequency, by utilizing the Pay Now Online Payment Gateway plugin. Visit Peach Payments

Yoco

yoco-payment-gateway
Accepts all major credit cards as well as WooCommerce and Wix payment gateway plugins for your website.
Acceptance of credit card payments through your website. No monthly or minimum fees. Visit Yoco

Virtual Card Services (VCS)

Virtual card services payment gateway
VCS charges R285.00 setup, R0.57 per transaction for authorisation, and R0.57 + 0.5% of the transaction for settlements.
The monthly fee is R165.30, and bulk discounts are available based on the number of transactions. Visit VCS

Snapscan

snapscan south african payment gateway
Snapscan is a contactless mobile payment solution that lets you accept and send payments both online and offline. Snapscan's transaction fees start at just 3% (excluding VAT) per transaction and drop to 2.6 percent if your monthly revenue exceeds R80 000.  SnapScan Mobile Payment Gateway

PayU South Africa

PAYU payment gateway
PayU South Africa is a secure e-commerce payment gateway that allows you to accept credit card payments. PayU is part of Naspers Ltd., a multi-national media group founded in 1915 that operates in over 133 countries.
Naspers is a multinational conglomerate with operations in e-commerce, pay-TV, and print media. Visit PayU

2Checkout

2checkout-payment gateway
2Checkout is a great substitute. 2CO is also a good option if you want to avoid PayPal issues. The account setup process is quick as there is no credit check involved. It has a one-time $49 USD setup fee.
You must also pay a 5% commission plus $0.45 per transaction. Visit 2Checkout

PayPal

PayPal is always at the top of the list of online processors, whether sending or receiving money.
Since March 25, 2010, PayPal has entered the South African market and closed a partnership with FNB bank.
The disadvantage is that you can only charge in USD.
This is a major disadvantage if your target market is South Africans, as not everyone has a PayPal account, and charging in USD will be confusing to them. Visit PayPal

Google Wallet

Google Wallet is now available in South Africa from August 2022, which is the product's first market in Africa. It lets users save their credit cards, loyalty cards, and boarding passes and then quickly and safely access them.

Cardholders of South African partner banks such as FirstRand Bank, Discovery Bank, Investec, Standard Bank, ABSA, and Nedbank may now add their details to the wallet and conduct contactless payments using their Android phones and Wear OS devices, according to Google.  Visit Google wallet

Netcash

Netcash south african payment gateway
Netcash provide payment solutions to businesses and organizations of all kinds.
The corporation delivers outstanding payment services to a diverse range of businesses and their requirements.
Sage Online Tools, Woocommerce, WordPress, Magento, cs.cart, Prestashop, and nopCommerce are all compatible with the Netcash Pay Now Gateway.
Retailers may offer their consumers more payment options, increasing payment frequency, by utilizing the Pay Now Online Payment Gateway plugin. Visit Netcash

Layup

Layup south african payment gateway
LayUp's Smart Lay-By Technology allows customers to pay in interest-free installments. In order to secure their chosen products at the quoted price and initiate their payment plan, the buyer must pay a modest deposit (decided by you, the seller).

The consumer has the freedom to choose the number of weeks or months they want to pay over, as long as it falls within the time constraints you've set.
Define your company criteria for any individual items you want to provide the LayUp payment plan option for, such as deposit amount and final payment date.
No interest is ever charged. There are no hidden costs or late fees. There is no interest at all. Visit Layup

Payflex

Payflex south african payment gateway
Payflex is South Africa's first totally free payment plan. Payflex provides South African retailers with an online payment gateway solution that allows customers to pay over six weeks, interest-free.
Pay with Payflex today and pay just 25% of the total product price. Your order will be dispatched right away.
And the balance is paid over the course of six weeks at no extra charge (no fees, no interest*). If you skip a payment, you will be charged a default fee.
Payflex is funded in South Africa by ZIP, a renowned Australian fintech firm with over 3.5 million consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Visit Payflex

Paystack

Paystack payment gateway Logo
Give your clients the convenience of modern, frictionless payments.

Paystack lets you integrate once and accept payments from clients in a variety of ways.

Card
Masterpass
EFT
SnapScan
PayPal (coming soon)
Zapper (coming soon)

Receive money from clients anywhere in the world. The boundaries of the internet should not apply to your company.
You can take payments from consumers who are from abroad and from cards that were issued outside of your country using Paystack.

Paystack provide regionally-favored payment methods that are popular around the world, such as mobile money. Visit paystack

Flutterwave

Flutterwave is a payment gateway processor that lets businesses get paid in over 150 different currencies and through multiple channels around the world. It works with all kinds of businesses, including e-commerce, marketplaces, and platforms.

Flutterwave gives developers a flexible and easy-to-use payment infrastructure for building payment flows. This infrastructure is made up of SDKs, API endpoints, and plugins. The platform is secure and guarantees the safety of payment data with certifications like ISO 27001 and 22301 and PA DSS and PCI DSS compliance. Flutterwave also offers a point of sale (POS) device for in-person sales and recurring payments for subscription-based businesses. Visit Flutterwave

What is an Merchant Account?

A Merchant Account is an solution established by a bank which enables a company or individual to route money from credit card sales to an account which holds it before transferring it to the business or individuals own account. South Africa’s top four banks (Standard Bank, Nedbank, ABSA and FNB) all offer Internet Merchant Accounts. A merchant can therefore apply for an Internet Merchant Account directly with their bank.

Do I need a Merchant Account to use a Payment Gateway:

No you do not need to be a registered merchant with a bank to use a Payment Gateway.

Mobile Payment Gateways:

Allow the client to pay via their mobile/cell phone, mobicred is a simple & convenient credit facility that allows a cellphone to safely shop online or make payments.
We integrate Mobicred or Snapscan into an ecommerce solution, mobicred is a simple & convenient credit facility that allows your users to safely shop online with our participating retailers.
For more info read mobicred.co.za or snapscan.co.za

What is the advantage of an internet merchant account?

You would pay less transaction fees but because you need to pay your bank a monthly fee, it would only be advisable on large amounts of sales per month.

Blockchain Payment Gateways

You can use the bitcoin payment gateway to sell your goods or services using a standard online store.
What benefits may use cryptocurrencies offer?
These advantages include ease of use, affordable costs, security, privacy, and more control. In contrast to conventional currencies, cryptocurrencies enable consumer transactions devoid of the involvement of a middleman like a bank or credit union. Read more Cryptocurrency Payment Gateways

Receive US and EU Payments:

Faster Payments - Receive your payments as quickly as if you were in the US or EU
Low Fees - Keep more of your earnings with a fee of only 2%

How can I apply for the service?
Also receive a 2checkout prepaid Mastercard? Your funds will automatically be loaded to your 2checkout card, which can be used to withdraw money via any ATM worldwide or for online/ in-store purchases where MasterCard® is accepted.

Price Plan Comparison

Check out which particular plan is right for you or your business.
See Plan Comparison

Need help integrating a payment gateway?

Get in touch and we will respond to any questions that you have.
Contact Us
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