Payfast
 | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial technology |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | Jonathan Smit and Andy Higgins |
| Headquarters | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Services | Payment facilitation |
| Parent | Network International (since 2021) |
| Website | payfast |
Payfast is a South African fintech company and online payment service provider, based in Cape Town. The company provides ecommerce stores with an online payment gateway.[1]
Established in 2007, Payfast has been a subsidiary of UAE-based Network International since 2021.
History
[edit]Payfast was established in 2007, by Jonathan Smit, who developed the platform's core architecture, and Andy Higgins, who provided investment capital.[2]
In 2009, the company processed its first credit card transaction, and had reached a total of 1,000 clients. The following year, it integrated with PrestaShop and WooCommerce.[2]
In 2012, Payfast rolled out an integration with Shopify. At the time, the company had 10,000 merchants linked to its platform.[2]
In 2015, Payfast processed its 1 millionth unique buyer transaction, and began processing Masterpass payments. The following year, the company integrated with Xero.[2]
In July 2019, it was announced that Payfast would be acquired by Kenyan payment services company DPO Group - the fifth such acquisition by DPO since its founding in 2006. It formed part of a DPO expansion into eleven new African markets. At an announcement in Cape Town, DPO's chairman said the deal had been carried out through a mix of shares and cash, and that Payfast's management team would remain key shareholders in DPO Group. At the time of the deal, Payfast had over 55,000 South African e-commerce merchants as clients.[3] The deal was said by DPO to be the largest acquisition of a payments processing company in Africa to date.[4]
In September 2020, Payfast was supporting online payments for over 80,000 merchants in South Africa.[5]
In 2021, Payfast's parent company, DPO Group, was acquired by UAE financial services company Network International for R3.5 billion.[6] Three years later, the former's payments platform was rebranded to Payfast by Network.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Payfast rebrand brings PayGate and SiD under one roof". Ventureburn. 15 September 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "14 years of enabling ecommerce". Payfast. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ "DPO acquires SA's PayFast in reported multi-million rand deal". Ventureburn. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ Toby Shapshak (31 July 2019). "Largest Acquisition By Payment Service Provider In Africa, Says Kenya's DPO Of PayFast Purchase". Forbes. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ "Celebrating PayFast's heritage". Payfast. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ "Payfast owner pumping R500 million into South African platform". MyBroadband. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
- ↑ "South Africa's Payfast rebrands as Network International". Tech Central. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2026.