Payfast

Payfast by Network is an online payment gateway for South African merchants that need to accept card and alternative payments on ecommerce sites, invoices, and in-store.

Key capabilities include:

• 18+ payment methods including credit cards, Instant EFT, QR codes, Mobicred, and store cards, with support for multi-currency pricing to accept payments from almost anywhere in the world.
• Checkout and billing tools such as onsite payments, Pay Now buttons, payment requests via email, and subscriptions with tokenization for recurring card payments.
• Operations and settlement features including immediate payout (access funds within minutes), merchant refunds, and split payments to share a transaction with a third party.
• Integration options across 70+ plugins and platforms, plus custom integrations using APIs, SDKs, and developer documentation (including separate docs for Aggregation and Gateway).

Available on Web (merchant dashboard and login portals), Android and iOS (Payfast by Network App), and via API.

It serves businesses of all sizes, from SMEs that want a transaction-fee-only Aggregation option (no monthly fees) to larger merchants that need a Gateway solution using an existing merchant account.

Notable in South Africa for its PCI-DSS Level 1 security posture and adoption across local merchants, with the service described as trusted by 80,000+ South African businesses and backed by Network International.

As of Jun 22, 2026, Payfast is rated 2.8 on the App Store from 8 reviews and 3.4 on Google Play from 110 reviews with 50K+ installs.