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PayFast vs Ozow is the most common payment gateway question South African Shopify merchants ask in 2026 — and the answer that actually moves the needle is not "pick one." Both platforms have carved out distinct territory in the local checkout stack, and understanding exactly where each earns its keep can save a growing store thousands of Rands in fees every year.
If you are building or refining a Shopify store in South Africa, your payment gateway setup is one of the highest-leverage decisions you will make.
This guide breaks down every fee, every supported method, settlement speed, Shopify integration, and the honest verdict on which merchants need PayFast, which need Ozow, and which need both. Figures are taken directly from each provider's official pricing pages as of mid-2026 — check our full payment gateway fees comparison for a broader SA market view.
Quick Answer
PayFast vs Ozow is best understood as a complementary pair rather than a straight choice. PayFast leads on payment method breadth — 18+ options including cards, Instant EFT, wallets, BNPL and QR — making it the default starting gateway for most SA stores. Ozow leads on EFT cost efficiency, charging 1.5% (min R1.00) on bank transfers versus PayFast's 2.0% (min R2.00). Stores processing significant EFT or high-average-order-value B2B payments routinely add Ozow as a second gateway to cut costs on that slice of transactions. If you can only run one, PayFast covers more of the SA checkout landscape. If you are ready to optimise, add Ozow alongside it.
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Review My Checkout SetupPayFast: Fees, Payment Methods, and Shopify Integration
PayFast is South Africa's most widely recognised payment aggregator. It requires no merchant bank account to get started and charges no setup or monthly fees — merchants pay only on successful transactions. That low-friction entry point, combined with the widest payment method range in the local market, is why most SA stores default to PayFast first.
PayFast Fee Schedule (2026)
| Payment Method | PayFast Fee (ex VAT) |
|---|---|
| Credit & cheque cards | 3.2% + R2.00 |
| Instant EFT | 2.0% (min R2.00) |
| Capitec Pay | 2.0% (min R2.00) |
| Google Pay / Apple Pay / Samsung Pay | 3.2% + R2.00 |
| SnapScan / Scan to Pay | 3.5% + R2.00 |
| Payflex (BNPL) | 5.45% + R5.00 |
| MoreTyme (BNPL) | 5.5% + R2.00 |
| Standard payout | R8.70 per payout |
| Immediate payout | 0.8% (min R14.00) |
| Refund fee | R2.00 |
Source: PayFast official fee schedule. All fees are ex VAT. Volume custom pricing is available for stores averaging more than R50,000 monthly over three consecutive months.
The R8.70 standard payout fee is per withdrawal event, not per transaction — if you withdraw frequently, that cost adds up. Higher-volume stores typically batch payouts to reduce this cost, or use the immediate payout option when cash flow demands it.
PayFast on Shopify
PayFast offers a native Shopify plugin that requires no third-party middleware — you copy your merchant credentials into Shopify's payment settings and you are live. The integration supports credit cards, Instant EFT, Mobicred, Masterpass, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay directly at checkout. PayFast holds PCI-DSS Level 1 certification and includes built-in 3D Secure 2 authentication. For a detailed look at all SA gateway options on Shopify, see our Shopify payment gateways SA guide.
PayFast at a Glance
No setup or monthly fee. Card rate 3.2% + R2.00. EFT rate 2.0% min R2.00. 18+ accepted payment methods. Immediate payout available at 0.8% fee. Native Shopify plugin. PCI-DSS Level 1. Volume custom pricing from R50,000/month.
Ozow: Fees, Payment Methods, and Shopify Integration
Ozow launched as a pay-by-bank specialist — its entire original proposition was enabling instant EFT at lower cost and without the chargeback risk that comes with card transactions. Since late 2024 it has expanded into a full payments platform, adding card acceptance, PayShap, BNPL, and voucher redemption to what was previously an EFT-only stack. Its PayShap integration alone processed over 14 million transactions in its first year of operation. In July 2026, Ozow and FNB/RMB launched an API-based real-time payment solution enabling account-to-account transfers without the traditional EFT process — confirm Shopify availability directly with Ozow if this is relevant to your checkout.
Ozow Fee Schedule (2026)
| Payment Method | Ozow Fee (ex VAT) |
|---|---|
| Bank transfer (Capitec Pay, Nedbank EFT, Absa Pay, Pay By Bank, PayShap) | 1.5% (min R1.00) |
| Local cards — R0 to R249,999 monthly | 2.85% (min R1.00) |
| Local cards — R250,000 to R499,999 monthly | 2.75% (min R1.00) |
| Local cards — R500,000 to R1,000,000 monthly | 2.65% (min R1.00) |
| International cards | 3.5% (min R1.00) |
| Apple Pay / Google Pay | Included in card pricing |
| BNPL | 4.99% + R4.00 |
| Voucher redemption (low-risk) | 4.5% |
| Payout fee (standard and instant) | R3.00 per payout |
| Refund fee | R3.00 |
| WhatsApp payment request | R0.35 per message |
Source: Ozow official pricing page. No setup or monthly fee. Next-day settlement on all packages. Card pricing is volume-tiered and resets monthly.
Ozow's R3.00 flat payout fee is noticeably lower than PayFast's R8.70 per withdrawal. At daily or weekly payout frequency, this compounds into meaningful savings for high-transaction stores.
Ozow on Shopify
Ozow integrates with Shopify through its Shopify App Store plugin. Setup runs through your Ozow merchant dashboard at dash.ozow.com — you connect your store URL, authorise on Shopify's platform, and the integration enables bank-to-bank payments directly at checkout.
Transactions are instant and irrevocable, meaning there are no chargebacks on the EFT side (customers cannot reverse a confirmed bank transfer the way they can dispute a card charge). Note that Ozow's Shopify integration page lists a 0.30% nominal fee on Shopify payments — confirm the scope of this fee with Ozow directly before going live, as it may stack on top of their standard rates.
Ozow at a Glance
No setup or monthly fee. Bank transfer rate 1.5% min R1.00. Card rate from 2.85% (volume-tiered). Next-day settlement. R3.00 payout fee. Shopify App Store plugin. Expanding beyond EFT: now includes cards, PayShap, BNPL, and vouchers. FNB/RMB API real-time payment solution launched July 2026.
PayFast vs Ozow: Head-to-Head Fee Comparison
PayFast vs Ozow diverges most sharply on three metrics: EFT rate, payout fee, and payment method breadth. The table below covers every line item SA merchants should compare before choosing a gateway or combining both.
| Feature | PayFast | Ozow | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card transactions | 3.2% + R2.00 | 2.85% (R0–R249,999) | Ozow (cards) |
| Instant EFT / bank transfer | 2.0% (min R2.00) | 1.5% (min R1.00) | Ozow |
| Capitec Pay | 2.0% (min R2.00) | 1.5% (min R1.00) | Ozow |
| BNPL | 5.45%+R5 / 5.5%+R2 | 4.99% + R4.00 | Ozow (slightly) |
| Monthly fee | R0 | R0 | Tie |
| Payout fee | R8.70 per payout | R3.00 per payout | Ozow |
| Immediate payout | Yes (0.8%, min R14) | Yes (R3.00 flat) | Ozow (larger amounts) |
| Refund fee | R2.00 | R3.00 | PayFast |
| Settlement | Immediate option (0.8% fee); standard timeline — confirm with PayFast | Next-day standard (R3.00 flat) | Confirm before deciding |
| Payment method breadth | 18+ (cards, EFT, BNPL, wallets, QR, Mobicred) | Cards, EFT, PayShap, BNPL, vouchers | PayFast |
| Chargeback risk (EFT) | Standard process | None (irrevocable) | Ozow |
| Consumer brand recognition (SA) | High — widely known | Growing | PayFast |
| Volume custom pricing | R50,000+/month | Auto-tiered on cards | Tie |
| Shopify integration | Native plugin | App Store plugin | Tie |
On fees alone, Ozow wins most line items. The reason most stores still start with PayFast is consumer familiarity and payment method breadth — a shopper who cannot find their preferred checkout option abandons the cart. Once you have a stable volume and understand your customer's payment habits, you add Ozow for the EFT slice.
Trying to figure out which gateway fits your current order mix and growth timeline?
Tell us your average order value, monthly volume, and how your customers currently pay — we will tell you within 24 hours which stack makes commercial sense for your store right now.
Get a Gateway AssessmentWhich Payment Gateway Is Right for Your SA Store?
The right choice between PayFast and Ozow depends on your store type, order mix, and customer demographics — not on which provider has the lowest card rate in a table.
Your customers are mixed across demographics and payment method preferences. You need card, EFT, BNPL, SnapScan, and Mobicred all in one integration. You are launching your first store and want the fastest path to a fully-functional SA checkout. You sell subscriptions or recurring billing products. PayFast's 18+ method breadth and high consumer recognition reduce checkout friction for the widest possible audience.
Your customers skew EFT-heavy — B2B stores, high-average-order-value fashion or homewares brands, or any store where bank-to-bank payment is the dominant checkout choice. Ozow's 1.5% EFT rate is the most competitive in the local market for that payment type. Adding Ozow as a secondary option on an existing PayFast store can meaningfully reduce fees on the EFT slice of your volume without disrupting card or wallet transactions. For more on BNPL integration with both platforms, see our buy now pay later South Africa guide.
Can You Use PayFast and Ozow Together?
Running PayFast vs Ozow as a dual stack — rather than picking one — is the highest-leverage payment decision available to SA Shopify merchants in 2026. Both have App Store or native plugins that sit alongside each other at checkout, and the setup is technically straightforward. The practical setup gives your customers card, EFT-via-PayFast, and EFT-via-Ozow as distinct checkout options, with you routing the EFT volume through Ozow's cheaper 1.5% rate.
The business case is concrete. The 0.5-percentage-point EFT rate difference (PayFast 2.0% vs Ozow 1.5%) means a store processing R100,000 in monthly EFT volume saves approximately R500 per month by routing that volume through Ozow; at R50,000 in monthly EFT volume the saving is approximately R250 per month. These are derived directly from each platform's published rates — apply the same calculation to your own EFT volume to see whether the second integration is worth its overhead at your scale.
One important note for Shopify merchants: because Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa, Shopify charges a third-party transaction fee on every order processed through an external gateway. The exact rate depends on your Shopify plan — check Shopify's current SA pricing page for the figure that applies to your subscription tier. This fee applies regardless of which SA gateway you use, and it can significantly change which option is cheapest at different volumes.
Reviewing how your checkout is performing against SA benchmarks? Our PayFast vs Peach Payments comparison and the SA payment gateway fees comparison cover the full competitive landscape.
Why South African Ecommerce Businesses Choose Growth Pulse Media
The gateway decision does not exist in isolation. It sits inside a checkout flow, an email and SMS recovery sequence, a campaign structure, and a customer journey that either compounds or erodes every rand of revenue your store generates. The stores we work with are not choosing between PayFast and Ozow in a spreadsheet — they are figuring out how their payment setup connects to abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase upsell, and repeat purchase rate.
Growth Pulse Media works with a deliberately limited number of SA ecommerce brands at any one time. That cap keeps our team's attention on your store's specific stack — named platforms like Shopify, PayFast, Ozow, Klaviyo, Omnisend — rather than applying a generic playbook.
Dirk built and scaled an SA ecommerce operation before founding GPM; the advice comes from having paid these gateway fees, tested these checkout flows, and measured the conversion impact firsthand. If you are ready to optimise your full ecommerce operation rather than just the gateway decision, our Shopify marketing agency for South Africa team is where that conversation starts.
Want a full audit of your Shopify store's checkout and payment setup?
Send us your store URL and we will review your gateway configuration, Shopify plan fee structure, and checkout conversion flow — and come back with a prioritised set of changes within 24 hours.
Request a Checkout AuditWho This Payment Stack Is NOT For
Both PayFast and Ozow are designed for the South African market. If your customers are predominantly outside SA, you need a gateway with strong multi-currency and cross-border support. Neither platform's international card rates (Ozow 3.5%, PayFast via card rate plus potential currency conversion) are optimised for a globally-oriented store. See our selling internationally from South Africa guide for gateway options suited to that model.
PayFast and Ozow both apply additional scrutiny — and in some cases decline to onboard — merchants in gambling, adult content, pharmaceuticals, and certain financial services categories. If your product vertical carries a high compliance burden, expect a longer onboarding process and potentially limited access to all payment methods.
Ozow's standard settlement is next-day. PayFast's immediate payout option costs 0.8% (min R14.00) per activation. If your business model requires instant access to funds — high-volume event ticketing, for example — neither platform offers this at zero extra cost. Factor that fee into your cash flow model.
Ozow's strongest value is on the EFT side. If your gateway analytics confirm that nearly all your customers pay by card and the bank transfer method sees little to no usage, adding Ozow as a second integration adds operational complexity for minimal fee savings. Check your actual payment method split in your gateway dashboard before adding a second provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PayFast or Ozow cheaper for South African ecommerce stores?
Ozow is cheaper on bank transfer transactions at 1.5% (min R1.00) versus PayFast's 2.0% (min R2.00). For card transactions, Ozow's base rate of 2.85% is lower than PayFast's 3.2% + R2.00, though PayFast's fixed component can make it cheaper on low-value card orders. Ozow's payout fee (R3.00) is also lower than PayFast's (R8.70). For stores with mixed card and EFT volume, total cost depends on your transaction mix — use both platforms' published rates against your actual order data to calculate your real total cost of acceptance.
Does Ozow work with Shopify in South Africa?
Yes. Ozow has a native Shopify integration available through the Shopify App Store. You connect your store via the Ozow merchant dashboard (dash.ozow.com), authorise the connection on Shopify, and Ozow appears as a payment option at checkout. It enables bank-to-bank payments without requiring customers to enter card details. Note that Ozow's integration page references a 0.30% nominal fee on Shopify payments — confirm this with Ozow directly before going live.
Can I use both PayFast and Ozow on the same Shopify store?
Yes, and many SA stores do. Both platforms offer Shopify plugins that can run simultaneously, giving customers card options via PayFast and bank transfer options via Ozow. This setup is particularly effective for stores with meaningful EFT volume, where routing bank transfers through Ozow's 1.5% rate reduces total gateway costs compared to processing everything through PayFast.
What is the key difference between PayFast and Ozow for chargebacks?
EFT transactions processed through Ozow are instant and irrevocable — customers cannot initiate a chargeback on a confirmed bank transfer the way they can dispute a card charge. This reduces fraud risk and the administrative burden of responding to chargeback claims. Card transactions through either platform carry standard chargeback risk. For high-ticket consumer or B2B stores where chargeback fraud is a concern, routing EFT through Ozow offers meaningful protection.
Does PayFast charge a monthly fee for SA merchants?
No. PayFast's aggregation solution — the standard setup for most Shopify stores — charges no setup or monthly fee. You pay only on successful transactions. The exception is gateway customers with their own merchant accounts, who may be on different pricing terms. PayFast also offers volume custom pricing for stores averaging more than R50,000 per month over three consecutive months.
How fast does Ozow settle funds to my bank account?
Ozow offers next-day settlement on all packages at a flat payout fee of R3.00 per payout — regardless of the amount withdrawn. An instant payout option is also available at the same R3.00 flat fee. This compares favourably to PayFast's standard payout at R8.70 per payout, where PayFast's immediate option costs 0.8% (min R14.00).
Ready to Build an SA Checkout That Converts?
We work with South African Shopify merchants on the full stack: payment gateway setup, checkout optimisation, email and WhatsApp recovery flows, and campaign strategy — all using the named SA platforms (PayFast, Ozow, Klaviyo, Omnisend) that your business actually runs on. No obligation — we will get back to you within 24 hours.
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