Quick answer #
Pay@ Gateway settles same-day on all card, EFT, QR, and PayShap transactions. Payments processed before 14:00 SAST on a business day land in your bank account that same evening. Payments processed after 14:00 settle the next business day. Weekends and South African public holidays settle on the next business day. No tier upgrades or applications are needed — same-day settlement is included on every plan.
How same-day settlement works #
When a customer pays you through Pay@ Gateway, the funds move through three stages:
- Authorisation — the customer’s bank approves the transaction. Takes seconds.
- Capture — the money is committed against the customer’s account. Happens automatically on successful authorisation.
- Settlement — Pay@ pays the funds into your business bank account.
For most SA payment gateways, settlement takes 1–3 business days. Pay@ Gateway settles same-day because we operate on the same payment rails Pay@ has used since 2007 — 19 years of SA payment infrastructure that allows daily payouts to verified merchant bank accounts.
The settlement schedule #
| Transaction time | Settlement arrives |
|---|---|
| Mon–Fri, before 14:00 SAST | Same day, by 21:00 SAST |
| Mon–Fri, after 14:00 SAST | Next business day |
| Saturday | Next business day (usually Monday) |
| Sunday | Next business day (usually Monday) |
| Public holiday | Next business day |
The 14:00 cut-off matches the South African banking system’s same-day clearing window. Transactions after this time can’t be processed by the receiving bank until the next clearing cycle.
What you’ll see in your bank statement #
Settlements appear in your bank account as a single deposit per day, not one deposit per transaction. The reference will read PAYAT GATEWAY followed by the settlement date and a reference number. Each settlement covers all transactions captured in that day’s clearing window.
You can match the settlement amount to individual transactions by checking your Pay@ Gateway dashboard or the settlement report we email to your nominated finance address each business day.
What slows settlement down #
Three things can delay your settlement beyond same-day:
- Bank account not yet verified. New merchants must complete the bank verification step before the first settlement can be processed. This is usually finished during onboarding but can be triggered again if you change banking details.
- First-week holds. Some new merchants are placed on a 24-hour settlement hold for the first 7 days of trading. This is a fraud-prevention measure and clears automatically.
- Bank-side processing delays. SARB and individual banks occasionally have processing delays, particularly around month-end and public holidays. We monitor these and post updates to our status page when they happen.
Related articles #
- Why is my settlement late? — Article 31
- Bank holiday and weekend settlement — Article 34
- Reading my settlement file — Article 32
- Updating your bank account details — Article 35
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