How South Africans actually pay for online shops
Two checkout options, built for two different kinds of business — not a technical decision, a product decision.
PayFast — a full online checkout.
PayFast is South Africa's most widely used payment gateway for small and medium online shops. It aggregates most of the payment methods South African shoppers already use — EFT, credit and debit card, Instant EFT, and SnapScan — into one checkout, so you don't need to integrate each one separately.
Cost is roughly 3.5% + R1 per transaction, on top of a free PayFast merchant account (registration takes 1–3 business days for ID and banking verification).
Fits best: fixed-price, ready-to-ship retail products — the customer knows exactly what they're paying before they check out, and the sale is complete the moment payment clears.
WhatsApp orders — no fixed checkout at all.
A full product catalogue where, instead of paying online, the customer's order is sent straight through to your WhatsApp as a clear, itemised message. You confirm details, quote if needed, and arrange payment however suits that specific order — EFT, cash, or in person.
Fits best: personalised, made-to-order, or quote-based products, where the final price depends on choices a fixed checkout can't calculate on its own.
More on WhatsApp-order shops, including the real running cost →
South African buying habits aren't fully online-native yet.
According to World Wide Worx and Mastercard's Online Retail in South Africa 2025 report, in-store payment and collection still play a large role even in "online" retail — in-store payment (73.6%), cash on delivery (37.3%), and collection points (35.8%) all bridge the gap between online browsing and offline habits many South African shoppers still trust more than a card entered into an unfamiliar site.
That's part of why a WhatsApp order flow works for so many small SA businesses — it lets a customer commit to buying without having to trust a checkout page they've never used before, from a shop they may not fully know yet. Trust builds through a conversation first, payment second.
What people ask about checkout options.
What payment methods does PayFast support?
EFT, credit and debit card, Instant EFT, and SnapScan, among others — PayFast aggregates most of the payment methods South African online shoppers already use into one checkout, at roughly 3.5% + R1 per transaction.
Is a WhatsApp order flow less "real" than a payment gateway?
No — it's a different fit for a different kind of product. A fixed-price retail product suits a PayFast checkout. A custom or made-to-order product, where the final price depends on the customer's choices, often suits a WhatsApp order flow better, because a fixed checkout can't quote a price that isn't fixed yet.
Can I offer more than one payment option?
Yes — a full PayFast checkout for standard products alongside a WhatsApp flow for custom or quote-based items is a common setup, scoped as the Extended Shop tier.
Not sure which fits your products?
A short WhatsApp conversation about what you sell is usually enough to work out which checkout makes sense.