Scale your business with Payfast fastest growing payment method – Instant EFT
An EFT is the second most popular online payment method in South Africa after credit and cheque cards. Activate Instant EFT as a payment option in your Payfast account and give customers the choice to create an EFT payment automatically on our system.
Supported banks:
FNB
ABSA
STANDARD BANK
NEDBANK
INVESTEC
TYMEBANK
BIDVEST
Understanding the Core EFT Technology
Payfast’s Instant EFT is a leading example of sophisticated electronic payments in the e-commerce space. It relies on advanced EFT technology (Electronic Funds Transfer) to facilitate immediate, secure bank-to-bank payments. Unlike a standard EFT, which can take 24–48 hours to clear, Instant EFT ensures real-time payment confirmation for merchants. This is achieved by automating the payment initiation process within the customer’s existing, secured online banking environment. By leveraging this system, Payfast provides a critical link in the broader South African payment systems landscape, ensuring swift fulfilment and a reduced administrative burden for businesses.
How Instant EFT payment works
- The buyer selects their bank and logs in using their online banking credentials.
- Next they choose from which account they will be making the EFT payment.
- Buyers then verify the payment with their bank on their mobile device.
- The payment is processed and instantly reflects in your Payfast account.
A Secure Alternative to Traditional Payments
Instant EFT offers compelling advantages when compared to traditional card transactions and in-person payments. For merchants, it significantly reduces the risk of chargebacks and often results in lower transaction fees than those associated with credit card processors.
For customers, security is paramount: your sensitive bank account information (such as login credentials) is never stored by Payfast. The transaction is authenticated directly with your bank via an OTP or mobile notification, ensuring the highest level of data protection. Because the transaction is handled entirely online, there is no need for specialised hardware, contrasting sharply with the reliance of physical stores on a dedicated payment terminal for processing sales.
The Automation of Bank Details
One of the key benefits of Payfast’s EFT technology is the automation of transfer details. When a customer pays, the system automatically populates the necessary merchant banking details, eliminating the human error associated with manual transfers. While international systems often rely on a routing number to identify a specific bank and branch for a wire transfer, Payfast’s system similarly automates the process of identifying and directing the payment correctly using local bank infrastructure and unique transaction identifiers. This ensures speed and accuracy, validating that the funds are transferred correctly without requiring the customer to manually input complex account numbers or references.
Benefits of Instant EFT
- Clears immediately; no two day wait
- Support payments made via FNB, ABSA, Standard Bank, Nedbank and Investec
- No delays during checkout
- Only pay a small all-in-one transaction fee when you make a sale
- Quickly action refunds via the Payfast dashboard
Simple, transparent pricing
No setup, monthly or hidden fees. Fees are negotiable based on online sales volumes.
