The short answer: For most new South African online stores, Payfast is the default — no monthly fee, the widest payment-method coverage, and native plugins for WooCommerce and Shopify. Yoco wins if you also sell in person and want one provider for card machine and online. Ozow is Instant EFT only, at the lowest rate of any method, with no chargeback risk. Peach Payments suits growing businesses needing subscriptions or multi-currency. All are free to open, you pay per transaction, and you can run more than one gateway simultaneously — which is what most successful stores do.
How gateways work, and what they really cost
A payment gateway processes the customer’s card or EFT at your checkout and settles the money into your business bank account, typically a day or two later. Opening an account is free, but every provider requires FICA verification — ID, proof of address, bank confirmation, and company documents if you’re registered. Start this on day one, because it takes a few days and blocks you going live.
Published rates, mid-2026
| Gateway | Cards | Instant EFT | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payfast | 3.2% + R2 | 2.0% (min R2) | None |
| Yoco | ~2.95% | Not offered | None |
| Peach Payments | 2.95% + R1.50 | From ~1.5% | Account fee applies |
| Ozow | Not offered | 1.5% | None |
| Stitch | ~2.95% | Yes | None |
| Paystack | 2.9% + R1 | — | None |
All rates above exclude VAT — 15% applies to merchant service fees, so add it when modelling your margins. Rates are entry or standard tiers; most gateways negotiate lower at higher volume, and Payfast opens custom pricing once monthly turnover is substantial.
Two things worth knowing about the market as it stands: Payfast now trades as “Payfast by Network” following its acquisition by Network International, and many older articles still quote its card rate as 3.5% — the current published rate is lower, so check the source of any comparison you read. PayGate is now part of DPO Group and no longer publishes a clean public fee table; rates there are negotiated case by case.
The contenders, honestly
Payfast — South Africa’s most established gateway, operating since 2007 and supporting the widest range of payment methods in a single integration. That breadth matters more than it sounds: plenty of South African shoppers won’t enter card details but will pay by Instant EFT, others live on SnapScan or Zapper, and Mobicred adds credit-based buying. No monthly fee. The weaknesses are an older dashboard and a more complex fee schedule than the newer entrants.
Yoco — the omnichannel play: card machines, online gateway and payment links in one dashboard, with transparent pricing and famously easy setup. No Instant EFT option.
Ozow — the Instant EFT specialist, and the cheapest published rate of any method here. Two genuine superpowers: it’s the cheapest way to get paid on larger baskets, and EFT payments can’t be charged back, so fraud-reversal risk disappears. Best used alongside a card gateway rather than instead of one, since it doesn’t accept cards at all.
Peach Payments — the scale-up option: subscriptions and recurring billing, multi-currency, tokenised one-click payments. The account fee means it only pays off once your volume is real, but the card rate is competitive and it’s the natural upgrade for subscription models.
Also worth knowing: Stitch and Paystack for API-driven businesses with strong developer tooling, iKhokha as another low-rate card option, and buy-now-pay-later add-ons such as PayJustNow and Payflex, which lift conversion on higher-value baskets at a higher fee.
The setup most stores should run
Two options at checkout: one card gateway plus Ozow for EFT. Customers choose their preference, you get maximum conversion, and your blended fee drops because EFT is so much cheaper than cards.
Watch the fixed per-transaction fee if you sell cheap items. On a R150 order, R2 is more than 1% on its own; on a R2,000 order it’s negligible. Percentage-only gateways suit low-value, high-volume stores better.
And on Shopify, remember the extra 0.6% to 2% platform fee applies on top of everything above, because Shopify Payments isn’t available here.
Do: go live in five steps
- Pick using your own numbers. Small average basket with casual shoppers: method breadth converts best. Also selling in person: Yoco. High-value baskets: add Ozow immediately. Subscriptions: Peach or Paystack.
- Open the account and submit FICA documents on day one — ID, proof of address, bank letter, CIPC documents if registered.
- Install the official plugin for WooCommerce or Shopify and connect it with your merchant keys. Half an hour with the provider’s guide.
- Test in sandbox mode, then run one real small transaction end to end: pay, confirmation email, money reflects, refund works.
- Show trust signals at checkout — gateway logos, https, a visible returns policy and real contact details. Cart abandonment in South Africa is frequently a trust problem rather than a price problem.
⚠️ Fraud warning, both directions
Protecting yourself: card chargebacks are real and they come out of your pocket. Ship to verified addresses, treat rush orders with mismatched billing and delivery details as suspicious, and lean on Ozow or EFT for high-value sales, where chargebacks aren’t possible.
Protecting your customers: never email customers asking them to pay into a “new bank account” without phone verification in both directions. Invoice-redirection fraud is rampant in South Africa, and criminals intercept and alter invoices from legitimate businesses.
And never pay anyone to “unlock” a gateway account or “release” held settlements. Providers don’t operate that way — that message is a phish, and paying it just confirms you’re worth targeting again.
📥 Free download: Gateway Comparison Sheet — all the fees in one table with a your-basket-size cost calculator row, the FICA document checklist, and the two-gateway setup guide. Get the free download → (email required — we send the download link plus a short, useful tip series; unsubscribe anytime).
FAQ
What’s the cheapest payment gateway in South Africa?
Per transaction, Ozow on Instant EFT at 1.5%. In blended reality, a card gateway plus Ozow usually produces the lowest overall cost alongside the highest conversion, because you’re not forcing anyone into their least-preferred payment method.
Do these gateways have monthly fees?
Payfast, Yoco, Ozow, Stitch and Paystack standard accounts charge transaction fees only. Peach carries an account fee, which is why it makes sense at volume rather than at launch.
How long until the money is in my account?
Typically one to two business days after the transaction. Settlement timing varies by gateway and some offer faster payouts at a fee — worth checking if cashflow is tight.
Can I accept payments without a website?
Yes. Payment links sent by WhatsApp or email are a complete launch strategy while you build — several providers offer them.
Do I need a registered company to open a gateway account?
No. Sole proprietors can open accounts with personal FICA documents; registered companies add their CIPC paperwork.
Next step
Money can now reach you — next it needs somewhere proper to land: Business Bank Accounts Compared. The Online Business Launch Kit (R99) includes the pricing calculator that builds gateway fees into your margins, so every product is priced to survive them. 🛒 Get the Launch Kit →
Related: WooCommerce vs Shopify · Register a Business with CIPC · Domain and Hosting
Last verified 30 August 2026 · Rates sourced from mid-2026 published fee schedules and provider pricing pages; all figures exclude VAT · Gateway rates change and are often negotiable at volume — confirm current pricing directly with each provider before signing up · Report an error