Setting up PayFast as your Checkfront payment provider

Learn more about PayFast, including Setting up PayFast in Checkfront and testing in sandbox mode.

Accessing the features mentioned in this article

Where can I find this feature using the top menu?
Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payment

What more do I need to use this feature?

• Admin permissions are required to manage Payment Providers.

PayFast provides payment processing for South African businesses. They enable easy, secure, instant money transfers between you and your Customers.

The PayFast integration enables payments made via the Customer-facing booking portal.

PayFast does not include virtual terminal functionality, so the integration does not support Staff-side processing of payments. 

PayFast does not directly support refunds. You must issue refunds through your PayFast dashboard and manually update the Checkfront invoice to reflect the reversal.

To enable PayFast, navigate to the Payment tab (Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payment).

Here you see a list of available payment providers. Locate the PayFast listing by clicking on the links in the left side menu labelled Available to [your country] or All.  You can also search for PayFast using the input box at the top of the page.

Next, click the PayFast listing to open the Add-on Setup modal, as pictured above.

Enter your Merchant ID and Merchant Key credentials from here in the provided fields. 

Note that the API Passphrase is not mandatory but does add an extra layer of security to the integration. 

If you set an API passphrase in your PayFast account (PayFast > Dashboard > Settings), you MUST enter it in Checkfront.

When done, click the blue Activate button.

PayFast is now successfully integrated with your Checkfront account and under your Active Providers list.

PayFast includes a sandbox (test) mode to ensure the integration works correctly and you are satisfied with the functionality. 

To activate sandbox mode, check the option in the activation window.

To use sandbox mode, you require a different set of credentials than your live account. You can generate test credentials at https://sandbox.payfast.co.za.

You need a PayFast account to use live credentials. Live credentials do not work in sandbox mode and vice versa.