PayFast – Payment Gateway for South African & South African websites
We are happy to introduce AE PayFast – a new payment gateway integrated into our themes. PayFast is a payment processing service for South Africans and South African websites. It enables easy, secure and instant transfer of money from online buyers to sellers.
PayFast allows sellers, including individuals, businesses and charities, to accept secure payments from online buyers in a variety of ways. It processes credit cards from anywhere in the world, Instant EFT (bank transfers with SA’s four biggest banks that get instantly verified), Bitcoin and more.
Like AE payment gateway family, AE PayFast can be used in 4 themes: FreelanceEngine, DirectoryEngine, DiningEngine, & EstateEngine.
Try PayFast in FreelanceEngine Buy for $29
Why choose AE PayFast?
If your business website is South Africa-based, then you should have AE PayFast integrated into your site as it is a well-known payment gateway with good service.
No setup fees or monthly subscriptions
Only a per-transaction fee is charged. Register in a matter of minutes and be ready to accept payments through PayFast.
Accept credit card payments: Visa & MasterCard
These are the most widely used online payment solutions. AE PayFast processes local and international credit cards, with a variety of fraud protection mechanisms in place to protect you against chargebacks.
Accept Instant EFT: bank payments that clear instantly
Instant EFT enables buyers to make payments with traditional internet banking with SA’s four biggest banks. The electronic funds transfer (EFT) gets verified instantly. No two day waiting period, no proof of payment required and no disclosing of financial information.
Fraud reduced through effective use of technology
PayFast is committed to keeping you and your information secure. It has a multitude of checks in place to protect both buyers and sellers from fraudulent transactions.
Requirement:
To use AE PayFast, you are required to have:
- A PayFast merchant account
- Please note that PayFast is only supported in South Africa
- Country set as “South Africa” and the base currency set as South African Rand (ZAR)
AE PayFast in DirectoryEngine
Back-end settings:
Go to Engine Settings → PayFast to fill in Merchant ID, Merchant Key, and Salt Passphrase.
Front-end display:
When it comes to payment method selecting step in submitting place process, select PayFast and fill in required information to complete the payment process.
You may ask these questions
Below are some common questions that we think might be useful for you. Please refer to this knowledge base site for more information about AE PayFast.
What are my fees?
PayFast charges no setup fees or monthly fixed costs. It only charges a small percentage on each successful transaction, so PayFast only makes money when you make money. The per transaction fees are detailed on this Fees page.
Can I receive payments in USD, EUR, etc.?
By law, PayFast is only allowed to accept payments denominated in ZAR. This is a South African Reserve Bank regulation which applies to all South African companies.
You can quote your prices in whatever currency you wish on your website, but in the end the payment amount displayed on the PayFast payment engine must be specified in Rands. Payments from foreign customers can still be accepted, but the amount must be in ZAR and the credit card system will take care of the conversion.
Can I send money to an international recipient?
PayFast cannot be used to send money to international recipients. It is used by South Africans and South African companies to receive money from South Africans and international buyers.
What is the difference between PayFast and PayPal?
PayFast is a South African-based payment collection service whereas PayPal is a US-based money transfer/payment system. The services PayFast offers are similar if you are looking to receive payment online.
The few brief comparisons between the two are:
- PayFast processes payments in ZAR (South African Rands) whereas PayPal for South Africans is denominated in USD (US Dollars).
- There is a one way flow of funds through PayFast from buyer (sender) to seller (receiver).
- You can bank with any South African bank and use PayFast.