Merchant Onboarding Checklist

Follow this simple onboarding journey to get your PayGate integration up and running — from testing transactions to accepting real payments from your customers.

1. Configure Your Test Account

Set up your test credentials and implement them on your staging or development site.

Use these credentials to simulate transactions without any real money movement.
Ensure your integration method (e.g. PayWeb, PayHost, plugin) is correctly implemented.
You'll use this same flow to validate your setup before going live.

Need help? Refer to our Authentication Guide to set up credentials.

2. Simulate the Checkout Flow

Using your staging environment:

Add a product to cart and proceed to checkout.
Ensure the payment button redirects to the PayFast checkout page.
Complete a simulated transaction using one of our test cards.

Tip: Check that the order status updates correctly on your website after the transaction.

3. Perform End-to-End Testing

Run through a few test purchases to ensure the entire process works smoothly:

Order confirmation emails are triggered.
Inventory updates (if applicable).
Callback or webhook responses are processed correctly.
Transaction reference appears on your merchant logs or order history.

Troubleshooting? Double-check your callback URL and success/fail pages.

4. Configure Your Live Account

Once you’re happy with your test results, switch to your live account credentials:

These will be shared with you by our Onboarding or Support team.
Update your integration to use live keys and endpoints.
Perform a real transaction using a small value to validate the live setup.

5. Access Your Merchant Portal

View and filter transactions.
Process refunds securely.
Generate custom reports.
Monitor payment performance in real-time.

You’re Ready to Accept Payments!

With your live configuration complete and your test flows validated, your site is now ready to securely process real payments using PayFast.

Need support? Contact our team or explore the full Developer Docs for deeper integration options.

Would you like me to turn this into ReadMe-style MDX with icons or cards, captain? Or perhaps a downloadable PDF checklist for internal use or merchant welcome kits? Just say the word, and I’ll chart the course! 🗺️