Running a business today means keeping up with constant change. Modern technology, new customer expectations and new ways of shopping all place pressure on South African merchants to stay ahead. Payments are more than just checking out online or in-store. They’re about efficiency, automation and growth. Having the right technology should not only help you accept payments but also help you unlock your business’ full potential.
Rather than being simple add-ons, Payfast by Network’s value-added services (VAS) are designed to help you build a future-proof business with the tools, automation and capital you need to grow confidently.
What is the difference between Payfast’s payment features and VAS offering?
Our features help you process payments; our VAS offering helps you build a thriving business.
Think of it like this:
- Processing a card payment is a feature.
- Automatically tracking your transaction history and turning it into a funding offer you can access instantly is a VAS.
Features help you run. VAS helps you scale.
Payfast’s VAS products were meticulously put in place to go beyond payment acceptance and help solve bigger business challenges like funding access, selling to an international customer base and reducing the time-consuming administration that limits growth. It’s about giving merchants the power to do more, with less effort.
How Payfast VAS is helping South African merchants thrive
Business funding
Access to capital is often the biggest barrier to growth, yet we believe it shouldn’t be. Most businesses don’t have the time to deal with the red tape associated with traditional bank processes that require extensive paperwork, appointments and long waiting periods. That’s why we have partnered with two business funding leaders to help our merchants access capital when they need it to:
- Buy stock
- Expand or renovate
- Hire staff
- Boost marketing efforts
- Bridge cashflow gaps
Easy Advance business funding for Payfast Aggregation merchants
Through our Easy Advance offering, which is brought to you in partnership with GoTyme Bank, qualifying Aggregation merchants can qualify for pre-approved business funding based on their business’ transaction history through Payfast. All that’s required to qualify is a monthly turnover of more than R5,000 per month for at least six months. The funding is made available directly through the Payfast Dashboard. No collateral, no queues and once approved, funds are paid out within 24 hours.
Cape Masai Leather found Easy Advance especially helpful during slower trading periods, as it allowed them to keep their skilled team in place without the pressure that comes with traditional funding. According to the founder, Harryson Juma Odari, retaining trained staff is essential in the artisanal industry as it takes a long time to train new staff. Payfast’s Easy Advance gave them the flexibility to do that.
This is one example of how funding and smart tools can transform a business when applied at the right moment. Check out our other case studies to find out how Easy Advance has helped other SMEs thrive.
Lula Funding for Payfast Gateway merchants
Our new partnership with Lula provides our Gateway (Paygate) merchants access to fast, flexible working capital. Funding decisions are based on your business’ real trading performance, giving you a safer, more accessible path to growth. Merchants can apply online in minutes and once approved, receive up to R5 million in funding within 24 hours, helping you bridge cash‑flow gaps, stock up for peak seasons, invest in marketing, or scale with confidence. It’s simple, fast and built around your real trading activity.
Split Payments
A future‑ready business needs systems that reduce admin, not create more of it. That’s why Split Payments is built specifically for our Aggregation merchants, giving them a seamless way to automate how funds are shared between multiple partners, suppliers, or service providers. Instead of managing complex manual reconciliations, Aggregation merchants can rely on Split Payments to handle payout logic instantly and accurately, freeing up hours of back‑office admin and enabling teams to focus on growth, not paperwork.
Beyond operational efficiency, Split Payments helps solve real-world industry challenges. A notable example is iTickets, a leading South African event ticketing platform. As an Aggregation merchant managing revenue on behalf of event organisers, iTickets uses Split Payments to automatically distribute funds at checkout, ensuring organisers receive the capital they need immediately for critical expenses such as venue deposits, marketing, staffing and supplier costs.
This automation replaces the traditional model of paying organisers only after an event has concluded; significantly improving cash flow, removing friction and supporting more sustainable event operations. Split Payments can be activated directly from the Payfast Dashboard.
Multi-Currency Pricing (MCP)
Multi‑Currency Pricing (MCP) allows you to display prices in your customer’s preferred currency while you still receive the payment in South African rand (ZAR), making it easier to sell globally without managing foreign currency accounts. At checkout, shoppers can select their currency from a drop‑down list and see an automatic real‑time conversion before completing payment with Visa, Mastercard, Amex or Diners.
This creates a smoother, more familiar checkout experience for international customers and increases the likelihood of completing a sale. It opens access to international markets, helping grow customer reach and revenue. It also reduces the risk of fraud from foreign card transactions and offers more competitive exchange rates than traditional banks. By allowing customers to pay in the currency they trust while enabling you to operate entirely in your currency, MCP makes global expansion more achievable and improves overall customer experience.
Immediate Payouts
Immediate Payouts gives you near real‑time access to the funds in your Payfast wallet, allowing you to transfer cleared money into your linked bank account within minutes instead of waiting the standard 1-2 business days. This rapid access helps businesses respond faster to cash flow needs like restocking, covering unexpected expenses or taking advantage of timely opportunities. The feature is available 24/7 and works for verified merchants who have completed at least one standard payout, traded in the past three months and use a bank that supports Real‑Time Clearance.
Immediate Payout is designed to offer agility and financial flexibility; it plays a key role in efficient operations for fast‑paced environments. You can select the amount you want to withdraw, view the applicable fee and confirm the payout instantly. By enabling access to funds within minutes, this service supports sustainable growth, improves cash flow stability and helps businesses act quickly to cash flow needs and opportunities.
The Payfast by Network App
The Payfast by Network App affords you a smart way to manage your entire business on the go from your Android or iOS device. It is designed to streamline day‑to‑day operations by centralising key functions in a single interface, helping you stay efficient in fast‑paced environments.
The Payfast App enhances overall financial control with tools that support faster decision‑making, such as tracking transactions, processing refunds, viewing settlement information and managing payout preferences. This blend of mobility, financial flexibility and operational visibility makes the Payfast App an essential value‑added service for merchants looking to grow and manage their businesses more effectively. And with even more features on the way, the app will continue evolving to support our merchants’ needs.
What value-added services does the Payfast by Network POS have?
Payfast by Network’s POS devices give merchants a way to accept secure payments in‑person, extending our trusted e‑commerce capabilities into the physical world. The devices allow you to accept card and mobile wallet payments anywhere your business goes, supported by intuitive touchscreen navigation. You can choose between the lightweight Digital Card Machine for mobility or the Printer Card Machine for convenient in‑store checkout, allowing you to target new customer bases while managing sales seamlessly through one platform.
Beyond payments, the POS device unlocks new revenue streams by enabling you to sell prepaid airtime, data, electricity and vouchers directly from the terminal, helping you attract more customers. With simple transparent pricing, no hidden fees and the ability to view both online and in‑person payments in one dashboard, the Payfast POS device delivers a streamlined, future‑ready commerce experience designed to help your business grow.
Building the future-proof business
Whether you’re a start-up, a family-run shop or a fast-growing brand, Payfast’s VAS offerings are designed to give you the freedom to grow on your terms. With powerful tools built to remove friction and a support ecosystem built around your needs, there’s no reason to hold back. Why impose limitations? Grow your business as you see fit, we’ll take care of the forms and red tape. Your job is to dream, build and scale. Our job is to make that easier, every step of the way.
