The short version
Connect Payfast by installing its free Shopify app from your Payfast Dashboard, under Settings > Integrations, and then activating Payfast Instant EFT in Shopify's Settings > Payments.
You need a verified Payfast account with a South African bank account, and Payfast's 2023 help article says the store must use a South African address and ZAR.
Each card sale then costs Payfast's Aggregation rate of 3.2% + R2.00 excluding VAT plus Shopify's third-party fee of 2% on Basic down to 0.2% on Plus, which comes to R28.00 on a R500 sale on Basic, before VAT.
Where You Start: Find Your Row
Find the row that matches your store; the sections below follow the order you set things up in.
| Your situation | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You don't have a South African bank account | Payfast can't pay you out; look at other gateways; the link in How Payfast Connects to Shopify lists them | Residency isn't required, but Payfast says you won't be able to receive payments without a South African bank account |
| You have a South African bank account but no Payfast account yet | Open a Payfast account and get it verified first | Payfast pays out only to a South African bank account, and card payments wait until the account is verified |
| Your Payfast account is verified, and your store uses a South African address and ZAR | Start in your Payfast Dashboard, then activate Payfast Instant EFT in Shopify | Payfast's setup guide, updated in October 2025, begins the install at Settings > Integrations in the dashboard |
| Your store's address is outside South Africa, or its currency isn't ZAR | Fix Settings > General before you install anything | Payfast's 2023 help article says Payfast shows in Shopify only with a South African shop address and ZAR |
| You sell to shoppers abroad or take credit card payments above R25,000 | Read the limits section before you set up | Payfast's Shopify articles say amounts come through in rand, and Payfast caps credit card payments at R25,000 per transaction unless it raises the limit on request |
| Payfast is connected, but orders stay unpaid or a payment fails | Go to the symptom table in When Payfast Doesn't Show | Payfast's help articles trace unpaid orders to the payment capture setting, currency errors to the store currency, and a missing card option to an account that isn't verified yet or a payment outside the account's credit card limits |
How Payfast Connects to Shopify
Key takeaway
South Africa isn't on Shopify's list of countries where Shopify Payments is available, and Shopify's rule for such stores is plain: if your country isn't listed, you need a third-party payment provider, and Shopify charges its third-party fee on what it processes.
Payfast is one such provider for South African stores. If you're still choosing, see which payment providers a South African store can connect; this guide covers Payfast only.
If Yoco is the other provider on your list, our Yoco guide covers its setup, fees and going live.
Payfast connects through its own app on the Shopify App Store, published by Payfast from Cape Town. The listing is free and says app support is provided by Payfast; Payfast charges its own transaction fees, covered below. The install doesn't start in Shopify, though: Payfast's setup guide, updated on October 27, 2025, starts it in the Payfast Dashboard, which the guide calls the Payfast by Network Dashboard.
In Shopify, Payfast doesn't sit with the card provider. Shopify configures some providers, including regional payment methods, in the Additional payment methods section rather than through the third-party provider selector, and Payfast's guide reaches it the same way: Add payment method, search for Payfast, select Payfast Instant EFT. Like other apps in that section, it is tied to an account with the provider:
Each additional payment method app has its own requirements for authentication and configuration, but typically, you're asked to log in or create an account with the payment provider.
The name in the search is narrower than the app. In the screenshots in Payfast's setup guide, the Payfast app page in the Shopify admin shows switches for Visa, Mastercard, PayFast Instant EFT, Mobicred and Zapper, and the App Store listing names cards, Instant EFT, buy now, pay later and Scan to Pay "and more". Card payments appear only once Payfast has verified your account.
What You Need Before You Connect Payfast
Key takeaway
The first gate decides whether Payfast will process and pay out your money at all. The second decides whether Payfast appears in your Shopify admin and at checkout. They fail in different places, so check them in this order.
Gate One: A Verified Payfast Account
Key takeaway
What Payfast checks before it pays you
| Condition | Where you check it | If it isn't met |
|---|---|---|
| A South African bank account for payouts; residency isn't required | Payfast's fees FAQ | Payfast says you won't be able to receive payments through it |
| An account type that fits you: Sole Trader (not registered with CIPC), Company (registered with CIPC) or Non-Profit | Payfast's verification guide | The documents Payfast asks for differ by type |
| Proof of identity, proof of address dated within the last 3 months, and proof of bank account ownership | Sole Trader verification | Payfast can't accept proof of address sent to a PO Box |
| Foreign nationals: a valid passport and a South African work permit | Payfast's identity documents | Payfast requires both to verify a foreign national's identity |
| The documents are submitted | Payfast Dashboard: Account > Verification Documents | Payfast's 2024 verification article says your account needs to be verified to accept payments through Payfast; its 2025 card article ties verification to credit card payments, which stay hidden until then |
Gate Two: A Store Shopify Shows Payfast To
Key takeaway
What decides whether Payfast appears
| Condition | Where you check it | If it isn't met |
|---|---|---|
| A South African shop address | Shopify: Settings > General, Store address | Payfast's 2023 article says Payfast won't show in Shopify |
| Store currency set to ZAR | Shopify: Settings > General | Payfast won't show, and a foreign amount reaches Payfast as rands, because Payfast transacts only in ZAR |
| A verified Payfast account | Payfast Dashboard | Checkout shows no credit card option |
| The shopper's market and the provider's requirements match | Checkout, shopper by shopper | Shopify doesn't offer the method to that shopper |
Payfast's article on the address and currency condition dates from May 2023, before the current setup guide, so treat it as the safe default. If your store currency isn't ZAR yet, here's where to change your Shopify store currency, and what the change does to the prices you already have.
How to Connect Payfast to Shopify, Step by Step
Key takeaway
Connect Payfast to Shopify, step by stepTick each step as you finish it; steps 1, 2 and 4 happen in your Payfast account, the rest in Shopify. Keep the order: Payfast's guide starts the install from its dashboard, not from Shopify.
Connect Payfast to Shopify, step by step
Tick each step as you finish it; steps 1, 2 and 4 happen in your Payfast account, the rest in Shopify. Keep the order: Payfast's guide starts the install from its dashboard, not from Shopify.
Sign up as a Sole Trader, Company or Non-Profit with a South African bank account for payouts; you don't have to be a South African resident.
Before you tick this off
- I have a South African bank account
- I picked the account type that matches my business
Submit your identity, address and bank account documents in the Payfast Dashboard under Account > Verification Documents; card payments wait for verification.
Before you tick this off
- My proof of address is dated within 3 months and isn't a PO Box
- Payfast shows my account as verified
In Shopify, go to Settings > General and make sure the store address is in South Africa and the store currency is ZAR, as Payfast's 2023 help article asks.
Before you tick this off
- The store address is in South Africa
- The store currency is ZAR
In the Payfast Dashboard, go to Settings > Integrations, click Click here to integrate with Shopify, click Install on the Payfast listing, log in to Shopify and click Install again.
Before you tick this off
- The listing's developer reads Payfast
- The dashboard confirms the app is installed
In Shopify, go to Settings > Payments, click Add payment method, search for Payfast and select Payfast Instant EFT.
Before you tick this off
- Payfast Instant EFT came up in the search
On the Payfast app page that opens, click Activate; Payfast then shows as active and can take payments.
Before you tick this off
- Payfast shows as active in Settings > Payments
In Settings > Payments, open Payment capture method (in our test admin on November 10, 2026, a row under Payment configuration), select Automatically at checkout and save, so paid Payfast orders update to Paid.
Before you tick this off
- Automatically at checkout is selected and saved
After the first Payfast payment, confirm that the Shopify order updated by itself, and find the payment in your Payfast Dashboard by its Custom Str4 field.
Before you tick this off
- The first Payfast order shows as paid in Shopify
- I can match it to the payment in Payfast
For step 3, the store address sits under Settings > General, in the store contact details:
- Settings
- General
For step 4, the dashboard sends you to Payfast's listing on the App Store, the page shown in Payfast's own guide. Check that the developer reads Payfast before you click Install:
For step 5, the Help Center calls the section Additional payment methods and its button Add payment methods, and Payfast's guide says Add payment method. In our development store on November 10, 2026, the same place read More ways to pay, with a + Method button:
- Settings
- Payments
The button opens Add payment method, where you can search by payment method or by provider:
- Settings
- Payments
- Add payment method
Searching for Payfast returns a payment method called Payfast Instant EFT, and that is the entry Payfast's guide tells you to select. The app page it opens is where you click Activate, and in Payfast's screenshots it also carries the card switches.
Step 7 is usually a check rather than a change: Shopify says automatic payment capture at checkout is activated by default for new stores. Payfast's 2022 article on unpaid orders traces them to this setting, so confirm it before your first sale.
- Settings
- Payments
Do You Need Your Merchant ID and Key?
Key takeaway
Two Payfast pages describe the Shopify connection differently:
What Payfast's pages say about the Merchant ID and Key
| Payfast page | What it says | When we read it |
|---|---|---|
| Payfast's Shopify integration page | "Integrate by copying and pasting your Payfast merchant ID and key" | November 4 and 10, 2026 |
| Payfast's Shopify setup guide, updated October 27, 2025 | Install from Settings > Integrations in the Payfast Dashboard, then activate Payfast Instant EFT in Shopify; no step asks for the Merchant ID or Key | November 4 and 10, 2026 |
Follow the setup guide: it carries a date and shows each screen. Keep your Merchant ID and Key to hand anyway, since Payfast's 2022 article puts them under Account > Personal Information once your account is verified. A 2023 Payfast article ties a 500 error after the redirect to Payfast to an incorrect Merchant ID or Key on the Payfast configuration page in Shopify, which is where they would matter; it is in the symptom table.
What Payfast on Shopify Costs: Two Fees per Sale
Key takeaway
The app is free; what you pay comes on two bills. Payfast charges its fee per transaction, and Shopify adds its third-party transaction fee, which comes in addition to the processing fees your provider charges.
Payfast's Rates for the Methods the App Shows
Key takeaway
Payfast's rates for the methods its Shopify app shows
| Method | Payfast rate, excluding VAT | Payfast's own example on R500 |
|---|---|---|
| Visa and Mastercard cards | 3.2% + R2.00 | R18.00 |
| Instant EFT | 2% plus R2.00 per transaction | R12.00 |
| Zapper | 3.25% + R2.00 | R18.25 |
| Mobicred | 3.2% | R16.00 |
Payfast Aggregation pricing, excluding VAT, read on payfast.io/fees on November 4 and November 10, 2026; Payfast's Gateway product is priced individually. Instant EFT costs 2% plus R2.00 per transaction: Payfast's fee page heads this row "2.0% (min R 2.00)", but its own R500 example charges R12.00, which is 2% plus R2.00. Methods: the ones the Payfast app shows in the Shopify admin in Payfast's own setup screenshots.
Payfast's fee page adds one detail about the product behind the app. An Aggregation account, the product Payfast's own Shopify page names in its heading "Integrate Aggregation with Shopify", doesn't need a merchant bank account to start accepting payments; Payfast's Gateway product does. You still need the South African bank account Payfast pays your money out to.
Payfast's fee page lists more methods than these four, including other buy now, pay later and scan-to-pay options; check it for any method your app shows that isn't in the table. At higher volume the list price stops being the only option: Payfast offers customised pricing if you process over R50,000 a month on average over 3 months.
Shopify's Third-Party Fee on Top
Key takeaway
Shopify's fee depends on your plan. Its pricing page sets the third-party rate at 2% on Basic, falling to 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus. Shopify applies it to all transactions processed through third-party gateways, but not to test orders or to draft orders marked as paid or pending.
Take one R500 sale. Payfast's own examples put its fee at R18.00 for a card and R12.00 for Instant EFT, excluding VAT, so Instant EFT saves R6.00 on Payfast's side of every R500 sale. Shopify's fee is the plan percentage of R500:
Both fees on one R500 Payfast sale
| Shopify plan | Shopify's fee on R500 | Total with a card, before VAT | Total with Instant EFT, before VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic (2%) | R10.00 | R28.00 | R22.00 |
| Grow (1%) | R5.00 | R23.00 | R17.00 |
| Advanced (0.6%) | R3.00 | R21.00 | R15.00 |
| Plus (0.2%) | R1.00 | R19.00 | R13.00 |
Payfast's fees excluding VAT, from its own examples on payfast.io/fees (November 10, 2026); Shopify's fee is the plan's third-party rate applied to the sale, before VAT. Shopify says that if your store is located in South Africa, you're charged 15% VAT on your eligible Shopify billing charges.
On Basic, Shopify's R10.00 is more than half of Payfast's card fee; on Plus it shrinks to R1.00. Whether a bigger plan pays for itself depends on your volume, and our gateway guide works through how the third-party fee is charged and when Shopify waives it.
Refunds, Payouts and Matching Orders
Key takeaway
Money leaves Payfast two ways: refunds to customers and payouts to you. Both run through Payfast, and both carry Payfast fees of their own.
Where to Refund a Payfast Order
Key takeaway
Payfast's Merchant Refund feature refunds a customer's payment directly from your Payfast Dashboard, in full or in part, and Payfast charges R2.00 excluding VAT per refund. For payment methods other than credit card and Instant EFT, such as Mobicred and Zapper, Payfast also keeps the original transaction fee.
Shopify's side depends on where the refund starts. For a store in a country without Shopify Payments, such as South Africa, Shopify returns transaction fees in proportion to the amount refunded when you refund the order in Shopify admin; refund through a third-party gateway instead and you don't get a transaction fee credit.
Payfast's refund article, last updated in November 2023, doesn't say whether a refund made in its dashboard shows up on the Shopify order, or whether one made in Shopify reaches Payfast. Check the order in both places after your first refund.
On the R500 card sale above, Shopify's fee on Basic is R10.00. Refund the sale from Shopify admin and that fee comes back in proportion; refund it only in the Payfast Dashboard and Shopify keeps it.
Payfast's refund article doesn't say whether a refund made in Shopify reaches Payfast, so after your first one, check in your Payfast Dashboard that the refund went through before you rely on that route.
How Payfast Pays You Out
Key takeaway
Payfast payouts and account fees
| What | Payfast's figure | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Holding period | 48 to 72 hours per payment | Before a payment can be paid out (Payfast's payout process); another Payfast article gives 48 hours |
| Time to your bank | About 2 working days | After the payout is made |
| Standard payout fee | R8.70 excluding VAT | Per payout, whatever its value |
| Immediate payout fee | 0.8% excluding VAT, minimum R14.00 | Only for some merchants: a verified account, at least one standard payout, transactions in the last three months and a bank on Payfast's list |
| Retained balance | Part of your balance | Payfast may withhold it to reduce the risk of fraud |
| Inactivity fee | R115 a month, including VAT | After 12 months without activity |
Payfast's fee page and help centre, read November 4 and November 10, 2026; fees exclude VAT unless the row says otherwise.
Matching Payfast Payments to Shopify Orders
When a Payfast payment succeeds, Payfast says the matching Shopify order updates automatically. The other direction takes a field: Shopify doesn't share its order IDs with Payfast, so they don't appear in the Payfast Dashboard, and Payfast's reconciliation article points you to the Custom Str4 field to match payments with orders.
Limits to Check Before You Rely on Payfast
Key takeaway
- Rand only, in Payfast's Shopify articles. Payfast's 2023 Shopify articles say currency conversion doesn't work with Payfast: a foreign-currency amount comes through as a rand amount, because Payfast transacts only in ZAR. International shoppers can still pay with Visa or Mastercard from anywhere, in rand. Payfast's separate Multi-Currency Pricing lets buyers pay in another currency on its payment page, but that 2024 article doesn't mention Shopify, so don't plan your store around it.
- R25,000 per credit card payment. Payfast sets a per-transaction limit for credit card payments on your account, and you can ask Payfast by email to raise it. To raise it, Payfast may put a retained balance on your account: a portion of funds you can't withdraw until 90 days after you close the account.
- No test step in the setup guide. Payfast's Shopify setup guide ends at Activate, with no test-payment step. The app page in its screenshots shows a Test mode switch that the guide doesn't explain, and Payfast's one Shopify sandbox article, from 2021, predates the app and says only once-off payments can be tested in sandbox mode.
- Support comes from Payfast. The App Store listing says app support is provided by Payfast, and Payfast's setup guide points to its Help Centre for installation problems.
When Payfast Doesn't Show or Payments Don't Update
Key takeaway
You searched Shopify for Payfast and nothing came up. Or Payfast is active, but checkout shows no card option, paid orders stay unpaid, or the Payfast page throws a currency error. Find the symptom in the table; the year beside each cause is the date of the Payfast article behind the fix.
Symptoms, causes and fixes
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Searching Add payment method for Payfast finds nothing | The store address isn't in South Africa or the store currency isn't ZAR (Payfast, 2023) | Set a South African address and ZAR in Settings > General, then search again |
| Checkout shows no card option | Your Payfast account isn't verified yet, or the amount is outside the credit card minimum and maximum set on your Payfast account (Payfast, 2025) | Finish verification under Account > Verification Documents, and check the credit card limits in your Payfast account settings |
| Paid Payfast orders don't change to Paid | Payment capture isn't automatic (Payfast, 2022) | In Settings > Payments, open Payment capture method (in our test admin on November 10, 2026, a row under Payment configuration), select Automatically at checkout and save |
| "Error: The supplied variables are not according to specification: currency", or the amount isn't converted | The store currency isn't ZAR, and Payfast transacts only in ZAR (Payfast, 2023) | Switch the store currency to ZAR |
| A 500 error after the redirect to Payfast | An incorrect Merchant ID or Key on the Payfast configuration page in Shopify (Payfast, 2023) | Check both values against Account > Personal Information in your Payfast Dashboard |
| You can't find a payment's Shopify order in Payfast | Shopify doesn't share its order IDs with Payfast (Payfast, 2024) | Match payments with orders using the Custom Str4 field |
| Payfast isn't on Shopify's payment gateways page | It wasn't listed there on November 4 or November 10, 2026, though its App Store app is live | Install from your Payfast Dashboard, then confirm Payfast Instant EFT comes up in Add payment method; Shopify says a gateway not listed for your region might not be supported by Shopify at this time |
The last row matters because Shopify points merchants to its payment gateways page as the main source on availability, and Payfast wasn't on it on November 4 or November 10, 2026.
For anything the table doesn't cover, contact Payfast's Help Centre, which its guide names for installation problems. And expect one thing from Shopify's side: to keep information synchronized with some additional payment providers, activity on orders that are pending payment might be restricted.
The Bottom Line
Key takeaway
The order matters more than any single setting: a verified account before the install, a South African address and ZAR before the search, automatic capture before the first sale. Then budget each sale with Payfast's rate and Shopify's plan fee together; on a R500 card sale on Basic that is R28.00, before VAT.
Frequently Asked Questions
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