Pay At Services

What Pay At Services does

Pay@ Services (Pty) Ltd is a South African payment aggregator headquartered in Stellenbosch that enables billers to accept customer payments through a single integration spanning physical retail, banking apps, mobile money, and voucher networks. Founded in 2007, the company positions itself as operating the largest payment network in the region, with 40+ integrated payment channels including major retailers (Shoprite, Pick n Pay, SPAR, PEP, Ackermans, Makro), all major South African banks (ABSA, Capitec, FNB, Nedbank, Standard Bank), mobile wallets (MTN Momo, Voda Pay, Snap Scan, Zapper), and prepaid voucher systems. Pay@ serves 500+ billers across insurance, financial services, media and entertainment, government, and SMEs.

The company's product portfolio is anchored by two core offerings: the Pay@ Integrated Solution, an enterprise B2B gateway with both real-time API and file-based batch integration supporting automated reconciliation at a 99.995% matching rate, and Pay@Go, a self-service portal for SMEs that enables invoice creation, QR code generation, and bulk payment requests without technical integration. A third product, PayThat, was launched in 2022 as a dedicated traffic fine payment platform for the City of Cape Town. The platform supports bill presentment across printed, PDF, SMS, QR, in-app, web, and USSD formats.

Pay@ generates revenue purely through per-transaction fees, with no setup or monthly subscription charges. Pricing varies by channel: 2.85% (minimum R1.85) for online and digital payments, 2.85% (minimum R5.00) for in-app bank payments, and 3.50% (minimum R7.00) for in-store retail payments. Geographic operations cover South Africa plus Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, operates with 11-50 employees, and holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification (FSP No. 29423).

Name

Pay At Services

Legal name

Pay@ Services (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://payat.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pay@ is a South African payment aggregator, founded in 2007, that enables 500+ billers to accept customer payments via a single integration spanning 40+ retail, banking, mobile money, and voucher networks across Southern Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Aggregation Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets) (FSAGALAB), Recurring Billing, Subscriptions & Tokenized Payments (CRAFALAH), Marketplace / Platform Acquiring (PayFac & Sub-Merchant Management) (FSAMABAF)

Keywords

• Payment aggregation platform
• Bill payment processing
• Retail payment network
• Mobile payment gateway
• API payment integration

Headquarters

HQ city

Stellenbosch

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction Fees: Pay@ charges transaction fees as a percentage of each payment processed. No setup fees, no monthly subscription fees. Fees vary by payment channel: online/digital payments at 2.85% (minimum R1.85), in-app payments at 2.85% (minimum R5.00), and in-store retail payments at 3.50% (minimum R7.00). Revenue is purely transaction-based with no recurring subscription component.
2. Integrated Solution Services: Enterprise clients using the Integrated Solution pay per-transaction fees only. No setup or ongoing subscription fees are charged for API integration services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pay@ operates a payment aggregation platform that enables billers (insurance companies, banks, municipalities, subscription services, and SMEs) to accept customer payments through a unified interface spanning physical retail stores, banking apps, mobile money, digital wallets, and voucher networks. The company offers an API-based Integrated Solution for large enterprises and a self-service Pay@Go portal for SMEs, providing real-time bill validation, automated reconciliation, and multi-format bill presentment with no setup or subscription fees.

Product overview

Pay@ Services operates a modular payment aggregator platform composed of a core enterprise product (the Pay@ Integrated Solution) and a self-service SME product (Pay@Go), supplemented by vertical-specific offerings (PayThat for traffic fines). The Integrated Solution is the primary B2B offering: a fully automated payment gateway with both API-based real-time integration and file-based batch integration, supporting bill presentment across all major formats and reconciliation with a 99.995% matching rate. Pay@Go is the lighter-weight, self-service variant designed for SMEs without technical integration needs — it provides a dedicated payment portal, invoice generation, QR codes, and bulk upload capabilities with no monthly subscription and per-transaction fees. Both products draw on the same underlying payment infrastructure: a combined Retail Network (physical stores), Digital Network (banking apps, cards, wallets, EFT), and Voucher Network (prepaid vouchers). PayThat is a separate branded portal for City of Cape Town traffic fine payments, developed in partnership with the municipal government. The company also offers a dedicated consumer-facing portal (payat.io) for making payments across 500+ billers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pay@Go: Self-service payment collection solution for small businesses, enabling invoice creation, QR code payments, and bulk payment requests without technical integration.
• PayThat

Products and services

• Pay@ Integrated Solution Fully automated enterprise payment gateway enabling billers to present bills in any format (printed invoices, PDF, SMS, QR codes, payment links, in-app, web-based, USSD) and accept payments across retail and digital channels with real-time bill validation, payment confirmation, and daily reconciliation reports. Supports both API integration and file-based batch integration for large enterprise clients.
• Pay@Go Self-service payment collections platform for SMEs that enables invoice/payment request generation, QR code payments, and bulk payment request uploads without requiring a technical backend integration. Offers automated cash flow and reconciliation management with single bulk settlement within 5 days.
• PayThat Dedicated traffic fine payment solution developed in collaboration with the City of Cape Town, enabling motorists to pay traffic fines online via card, EFT, or third-party apps, with the option to pay anonymously using just the notice number. No additional fees beyond the fine amount.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.995% reconciliation matching rate
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• City of Cape TowncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022Pay@ was appointed by the City of Cape Town as the new online and retailer third party service provider for traffic fine payments. Pay@ developed PayThat (paythat.co.za), enabling motorists to pay traffic fines online via card, EFT, or through third-party apps, as well as at participating retailers with card or cash.
• Capitec BankcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Capitec Banking App enabling customers to process payments online safely using their registered cell number without sharing banking information. Part of financial inclusion initiative.
• Shoprite GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor retail partner enabling cash and card payments at Shoprite, Checkers, and Shoprite U Save stores across South Africa.
• Pick n PaycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKey retail partner providing in-store payment acceptance at Pick n Pay and Pick n Pay asap (digital), covering physical and digital payment options.
• SPARcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRetail partner network covering SPAR stores for in-person bill payments via cash or card.
• PEP StorescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor retail chain partner for cash and card bill payments at PEP stores nationwide.
• ABSA BankcoreTechnology or IntegrationBanking integration partner enabling ABSA Bill Pay functionality and in-app payment processing through ABSA channels.
• First National Bank (FNB)coreTechnology or IntegrationBanking partner providing in-app and online payment processing through FNB channels.
• NedbankcoreTechnology or IntegrationBanking partner integration for Nedbank Pay Bills and in-app payment services.
• Standard BankcoreTechnology or IntegrationBanking partner for digital payment processing through Standard Bank channels.
• MTN MomocoreTechnology or IntegrationMobile money partner enabling MTN Momo users to make bill payments through Pay@ network.
• MakrocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRetail warehouse partner for bill payment acceptance at Makro stores.
• Stellenbosch UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSR partnership where Pay@ donates desktop computers and funds scholarships for students pursuing computer science degrees to address skills gap in South Africa.
• MiDO FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital literacy partnership where Pay@ funds deserving partners with equipment and financial support. Donation allowed purchase of cameras and extended impact to 8 additional digital hubs.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Visa Direct: Global card network push-payment service enabling real-time payouts and bill payments. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering payment-rail capabilities that overlap with Pay@'s payout and bill presentment functionality at greater scale.
• Network International (Payfast parent): Middle East and Africa payment processor with South African presence via Payfast. Comparable as a broader payment processor/incumbent operating at greater scale than Pay@ across the region.

Direct peers

• Netcash: South African payment and billing solutions provider with debit order, EFT and card payment offerings. Comparable to Pay@ in serving South African billers with multi-channel payment collection.
• Zapper: South African QR payment network used by merchants and billers for consumer payments. Comparable to Pay@ as a payment acceptance channel available to South African billers.
• SnapScan: South African QR-based payment network owned by Standard Bank used for merchant and bill payments. Comparable as a payment channel competing for the same consumer payment occasions that Pay@ orchestrates.
• Peach Payments: South African payment gateway and aggregator serving online merchants and billers. Closely comparable to Pay@ as a regional payment aggregator offering multi-channel acceptance, developer APIs and enterprise integration.
• PayU South Africa: Global payment gateway with a strong South African presence offering card processing, EFT, instant payment and recurring billing. Comparable to Pay@ in providing multi-rail payment acceptance for South African merchants and billers.
• Payfast: South African online payment gateway supporting cards, EFT, instant EFT and SnapScan. Comparable to Pay@ as a multi-channel payment acceptance platform for South African merchants and billers.
• Ozow: South African instant EFT payment provider integrated into merchant checkout and bill pay flows. Comparable as a digital payment rail that competes for the same merchant and biller integration wallet.

Emerging players

• Stitch: South African financial data and payment infrastructure provider for fintechs. Comparable as an emerging payment infrastructure peer in the South African market; also a documented Pay@ channel partner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pay-at-services
• Facebookfacebook.com/PayAtServices

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Pay At Services