- Short answer
- South Africa isn't on the Shopify Payments country list, so you use a third-party provider such as Payfast and pay Shopify's third-party fee.
- Payfast card rate
- 3.2% + R 2.00 per transaction, Aggregation account, excluding VAT (October 2026)
- Shopify's fee on top
- 2% Basic · 1% Grow · 0.6% Advanced · 0.2% Plus
- Payfast account
- Residency not required; you need a South African bank account for payouts
- Up-to-date list
- Shopify's payment gateways page, filtered by country; Payfast wasn't on it on October 10, 2026
Which payment providers can a South African store connect?
What three payments apps' listings say
| Provider | Its Shopify listing says | South Africa tie |
|---|---|---|
| Payfast | Links your Payfast merchant account; cards, Instant EFT, Buy Now Pay Later | Cape Town developer |
| Paystack | Local and global payment channels | Names South Africa among six countries |
| Peach Payments | Built for e-commerce in Africa | Cape Town developer |
Read on apps.shopify.com, October 10, 2026. Not a complete list.
Shopify counts over 100 credit card payment providers, and its availability guide names its payment gateways page, filtered by your store's country, as the primary resource. Payfast wasn't on that page, filtered or not, on October 10, 2026, though its App Store listing was live.
Payfast connects through the Payfast app. South African residency isn't required, but you need a South African bank account for Payfast to pay your funds out to.
How much do Payfast and Shopify charge per sale?
Payfast's Aggregation account rates, excluding VAT, as of October 10, 2026: cards 3.2% + R 2.00 per transaction (R18.00 on a R500 sale), Instant EFT "2% plus min. R 2.00" (R12.00 on R500 in Payfast's example), and R8.70 per payout.
Shopify's third-party transaction fee comes on top: it applies to transactions processed through a third-party provider, in addition to the provider's fees, at 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus. See how that fee is built.
What changes without Shopify Payments?
South Africa isn't among the 40 countries and regions on the Shopify Payments list, and Shopify says a store in an unlisted country needs a third-party payment provider. Shopify's documentation limits three features:
- Shop Pay — included as part of Shopify Payments; with a third-party gateway, only for stores in Australia, France or the United States.
- Shop Pay Installments — for eligible stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
- Selling in multiple currencies — needs Shopify Payments in your online store, per Shopify's multi-currency page (local-currency guidelines also name Adyen).
More in our Shopify Payments guide.
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