Accepting online payments in South Africa
The practical options are PayFast, Yoco, Ozow and PayJustNow. Expect to pay roughly 2.5% to 3.5% per card transaction, less on instant EFT. Stripe still does not serve South African businesses properly.
The options, compared
| Gateway | Typical fee | Takes | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| PayFast | ~3.5% | Cards, instant EFT, SnapScan, Mobicred | The default. Widest coverage, most recognised by SA shoppers. |
| Yoco | ~2.95% | Cards | Businesses already taking card in person on a Yoco machine. |
| Ozow | ~1.5 – 2% | Instant EFT only | Higher-value baskets where card fees hurt. |
| PayJustNow / Payflex | ~4 – 6% | Buy now, pay later | Baskets over about R1 000. Lifts conversion noticeably. |
| Manual EFT | R0 | Bank transfer | B2B and high-value orders where a day's delay is fine. |
Do not dismiss the last row. For business-to-business selling, or anything over about R5 000, plain EFT with clear banking details on the invoice remains completely normal in South Africa and costs you nothing in fees.
What you need before you can accept payments
Every gateway will ask for broadly the same things, and gathering them in advance turns a two-week onboarding into a two-day one:
- A registered business — a CIPC registration number, or your ID if you are a sole trader.
- A South African business bank account in the same name.
- Proof of address for the business.
- ID for the directors or owners.
- A live website showing what you sell, with visible terms, a refund policy and contact details.
That last one catches people out regularly. Most gateways will not approve an account against a site that is not live yet, which means the site has to go up before payments can be switched on. Build the store, launch it with payments disabled, get approved, then enable them.
When you do not need a store at all
Selling a handful of things, or taking deposits rather than full payments, makes a payment link is often enough. PayFast, Yoco and Ozow all generate shareable links you can send by email or WhatsApp — no store, no catalogue, no monthly platform fee.
This is the right answer for service businesses taking booking deposits, consultants invoicing fixed fees, and anyone with fewer than about ten products. Build the full store when the volume justifies operating one.
Set up and tested before you launch. Every e-commerce build includes gateway setup and a real test transaction end to end, so you never discover a broken checkout from an angry customer.
Common questions
Can I use Stripe in South Africa?
Not properly. Stripe's South African support has been limited and in beta for a long time, and most local businesses end up on PayFast, Yoco or Ozow instead. Do not plan a store around Stripe availability.
Which is cheapest?
Ozow, because instant EFT avoids card interchange — roughly 1.5 to 2% against about 3.5% on cards. The trade-off is that some customers prefer paying by card, so most stores offer both and let the customer choose.
How long does approval take?
Usually a few days to two weeks, depending on the gateway and how complete your documents are. Start it before your launch date rather than after.
Last reviewed .