What Payfast does

Payfast is a South African payment gateway platform founded in 2007 and headquartered in Cape Town, operating as a subsidiary of Network International, the Middle East and Africa's leading enabler of digital commerce. The company provides a PCI-DSS Level 1 compliant payment processing platform supporting 18+ payment methods, including credit cards, Instant EFT, QR codes, Mobicred, and store cards, and serves more than 80,000 South African merchants ranging from sole proprietors and SMBs to enterprise accounts such as Takealot, Dischem, and Vumatel. Its product architecture is organized around two entry models: a no-monthly-fee Aggregation solution for self-serve SMB onboarding, and a Gateway solution that wraps Payfast's processing technology around an existing merchant account for larger or more complex needs. Around this core, Payfast has built an extensive module set covering e-commerce checkout, subscriptions, tokenization, invoicing, event ticketing with split payments, donations, multi-currency acceptance, immediate payouts, and in-person contactless acceptance via the Network POS device, with an embedded business funding offering delivered through a partnership with Lula.

The business model is primarily transaction-fee based, with no monthly, setup, or hidden fees on the Aggregation tier and a pay-as-you-go model on the Gateway tier. Distribution is multi-channel: self-serve online signup for SMBs, sales-assisted enterprise onboarding, a 70+ platform plugin marketplace (Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Xero, and others), developer-first API documentation, and channel partners including agencies and integrators. Go-to-market mixes product-led growth, enterprise field sales, and developer relations, and is supported by content marketing, SEO, social media, case studies, and an active blog. The company has 101-250 employees and is led by founder Jonathan Smit, who in April 2026 separately acquired iVeri, a 26-year-old South African paytech operating across 10+ African countries, in a move that extends the broader Payfast-affiliated footprint into additional African markets. Recent strategic activity, including the Lula embedded funding integration (February 2026), the Network POS launch, and a reported 155% year-on-year growth in digital wallet transaction value through mid-2026, indicates a company expanding its product surface, embedding adjacent financial services, and participating in a rapidly digitizing South African payments market.

Name

Payfast

Legal name

Payfast

Website

https://payfast.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Payfast is a South African PCI-DSS Level 1 payment gateway serving 80,000+ merchants with a no-monthly-fee aggregation model, a premium gateway offering, 18+ payment methods, and 70+ platform integrations, operating as a subsidiary of Network International.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Payment Gateway

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer) (FSAMABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF), Recurring Billing, Subscriptions & Tokenized Payments (CRAFALAH), Payouts, Disbursements & Mass Payments Infrastructure (FSAGABAN), POS-to-Online Unified Payments (Omnichannel Payments) (CRAFALAL)

Keywords

• Online payment gateway
• Payment processing platform
• Merchant payment solutions
• Digital commerce payments
• Payment method aggregation

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Transaction-based fees: Primary revenue stream. Merchants pay a small transaction fee only when they make a sale. No monthly, setup, or hidden fees on the Payfast Aggregation solution. Gateway solution for larger merchants combines merchant account with Payfast processing technology.
2. Gateway Solution Services: Premium gateway solution for merchants with larger or more complex needs, combining existing merchant accounts with Payfast's expert payment processing technology. Revenue generated through processing fees on higher-volume enterprise transactions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Payfast is a South African online payment gateway that enables merchants to accept digital payments via 18+ payment methods including credit cards, Instant EFT, QR codes, and Mobicred. It offers two primary models: a no-monthly-fee Aggregation solution for SMBs and a Gateway solution for enterprise merchants, complemented by value-added services such as recurring billing, split payments, immediate payouts, and embedded business funding through Lula. The platform integrates with 70+ e-commerce plugins and a custom API, and is trusted by over 80,000 South African businesses.

Product overview

Payfast by Network operates as a comprehensive payment platform serving South African merchants with a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering consists of two main entry models: the Aggregation Solution (no monthly fees, transaction-based pricing) and the Gateway Solution (for complex merchant needs with existing merchant accounts). The platform is supplemented by extensive add-on modules including POS device services, e-commerce payments, invoicing, event ticketing, donations processing, subscription billing, tokenization, multi-currency support, immediate payouts, split payments, and embedded business funding (via Lula and Easy Advance). Additional capabilities include Paybill, Paybatch, onsite payments, and a mobile app. As part of Network International, the company processes payments for over 80,000 South African businesses and supports 18+ payment methods including credit cards, Instant EFT, QR codes, Mobicred, and store cards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Payfast Payment Gateway A fully supported payment gateway solution aimed at merchants with existing merchant accounts and more complex or higher-volume payment needs, enabling acceptance of payments from anywhere in the world.
• Payfast Aggregation Solution No-monthly-fee payment processing solution for small to medium merchants who do not have an existing merchant account, allowing them to accept online payments via 18+ methods.
• Network Point-of-Sale (POS) A physical tap-and-pay card machine that allows merchants to accept contactless in-person payments, with funds settled directly into their Payfast by Network account.
• E-commerce Payments Online payment acceptance solution for digital storefronts, allowing merchants to receive payments instantly and securely with multiple South African payment methods.
• Invoicing An online invoicing tool that lets businesses generate and send invoices which customers can pay directly through the Payfast payment methods.
• Event Ticketing Solution for event organizers to sell tickets either through Payfast's platform or embedded in their own site, with built-in Split Payments to automatically distribute funds.
• Donations Online donation collection solution for nonprofits and charities, with reduced transaction fees and multiple payment methods to maximize donor conversion.
• Subscriptions Recurring billing feature that enables merchants to schedule and accept payments at regular intervals for subscription-based services.
• Payment Request Email-based payment request feature that lets merchants collect payments from customers via emailed links, useful for ad hoc invoicing and remote payment collection.
• Multi-Currency Pricing Feature enabling merchants to accept payments in almost any currency, supporting cross-border commerce and international customers.
• Immediate Payout Accelerated settlement feature that gives merchants access to their funds within minutes rather than waiting for standard settlement cycles.
• Split Payments Capability that automatically splits a single payment between multiple recipients, used for event organizer payouts, marketplace vendor settlement, and other multi-party flows.
• Lula Business Funding Embedded business funding product that gives Payfast merchants access to working capital from Lula directly through their Payfast dashboard, using trading data for underwriting.
• Easy Advance In-dashboard business funding feature that provides working capital advances to merchants based on their Payfast processing history.
• Paybill Gateway e-billing feature for electronic invoice delivery and payment collection, targeted at merchants using the Payfast Gateway solution.
• Paybatch Gateway feature that allows merchants to process many payments in a single batch, improving back-office efficiency for high-volume workflows.
• Payfast by Network App Mobile application that lets merchants manage transactions, view reporting, and operate their Payfast account from a mobile device.
• Pay Now Buttons Pre-built payment button widgets that merchants can drop onto websites, emails, or other digital properties to collect one-off payments without a full integration.
• iVeri Acquired multi-channel paytech platform enabling payment transactions across more than 10 African countries for tens of thousands of merchants, offering multi-channel processing capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Digital wallet transaction value grew by nearly 155% between January 1 and May 18, 2026 compared to same period in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• iVericoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Jonathan Smit, founder and former managing director of Payfast, has completed the acquisition of iVeri, a South African paytech company. The 26-year-old company enables multi-channel transactions for tens of thousands of merchants across over 10 African countries. Smit will serve as executive chairperson with plans focused on growth, brand initiatives, modernization, and 'considered innovation' while preserving iVeri's existing capabilities.
• LulacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 February 2026Lula, a business funding platform, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Payfast by Network to embed growth funding solutions directly into Payfast's e-commerce payments environment. The partnership enables Payfast's SME merchants to access fast, flexible capital that is data-driven and aligned to their real trading activity, without needing separate funding applications or traditional lending processes. This collaboration supports Lula's broader embedded finance strategy of integrating funding into trusted operational tools where businesses already transact.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PayGate: South African payment gateway also owned by Network International and targeting the same merchant base. Payfast and PayGate share a parent, payment infrastructure, and overlap on enterprise gateway services — the closest like-for-like competitor.
• Yoco: South African fintech providing card machines, online payments, and business funding to SMBs. Competes head-to-head with Payfast Aggregation on SMB onboarding, pricing, and POS, and has recently expanded into online and embedded finance.
• Peach Payments: Africa-focused online payment gateway serving merchants across South Africa and other African markets. Directly comparable online checkout, plugin integrations, and multi-payment-method coverage.
• Ozow: South African Instant EFT payment provider integrated into merchant checkout flows. Overlaps with Payfast on Instant EFT, SMB merchant acquisition, and e-commerce checkout conversion.
• iVeri: South African multi-channel paytech acquired by Payfast founder Jonathan Smit in April 2026, enabling transactions across 10+ African countries. A close peer in product, geography, and customer base, now under common founder ownership.
• SnapScan: South African QR-based mobile payment platform competing for the same SMB merchant wallet, particularly in retail and in-person acceptance where Payfast's Network POS device also plays.

Broad incumbents

• Stripe: Global payment processor expanding into South Africa. Competes on developer experience, gateway capabilities, and enterprise gateway contracts, but does not specialise in local South African rails like Instant EFT or Mobicred.
• PayPal: Global digital wallet and payment platform with established South African merchant relationships. Overlaps on cross-border e-commerce checkout and multi-currency acceptance but lacks Payfast's local SMB and POS depth.
• Block (Square): Global payments and POS incumbent (Square) competing for South African SMB merchants with hardware-led, omnichannel payment offerings similar to Payfast's POS-plus-online stack.

Emerging players

• Stitch: South African fintech building financial data and payment infrastructure for businesses. Adjacent in customer base (SMB merchants) and increasingly overlapping with Payfast on payment initiation and embedded finance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/payfast
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/payfast
• Facebookfacebook.com/payfast
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/payfast
• Instagraminstagram.com/payfastbynetwork

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Payfast