What are the fees?

3 min read

Quick answer #

Pay@ Gateway charges 2.85% per online transaction on the Online plan, with a minimum fee of R1.85. There are no setup fees, no monthly fees, and no hidden charges. The 2.85% covers cards, EFT, QR codes, and PayShap — one rate for every payment method. Wholesale and Enterprise customers receive volume-based discounted rates starting from 2.3%. All fees exclude 15% VAT.

Online plan — full fee breakdown #

Item	Fee
Card transactions (Visa, Mastercard)	2.85% + R1.85 min
Instant EFT (Capitec Pay, Pay with EFT)	2.85% + R1.85 min
QR code payments (Scan to Pay, Zapper, SnapScan)	2.85% + R1.85 min
PayShap instant payments	2.85% + R1.85 min
Setup fee	None
Monthly fee	None
Refund fee	[PH-031]
Chargeback fee	[PH-032]
Settlement fee	None
Same-day settlement	Included

All fees exclude 15% VAT. The VAT is shown separately on every transaction report and on your monthly invoice.

How the 2.85% compares #

Most SA gateways charge different rates for different payment methods, plus per-transaction fixed fees, plus monthly fees. Pay@ Gateway charges one rate, full stop.

For a quick comparison on R100,000 monthly card volume:

Gateway	Card rate	Monthly cost on R100K
Pay@ Gateway	2.85%	R2,850
PayFast	3.2% + R2.00	~R3,400 (varies by tx count)
Peach Payments	2.95% + R1.50	~R3,100 (varies by tx count)
PayGate	3.5% + R99/mo	R3,599 minimum

These figures use each gateway’s published rates as of [PH-033]. Volume-based negotiated rates can change individual outcomes — check directly for your exact case.

Wholesale plan — how the volume discount works #

The Wholesale plan offers reduced rates based on your monthly card processing volume. Rates start from 2.3% for qualifying volumes. To qualify, contact our sales team — typical Wholesale customers process upwards of R250,000 per month, though the exact threshold is set per merchant based on risk profile, industry, and growth trajectory.

Wholesale customers keep everything from the Online plan and add:

Reduced per-transaction rates
Priority same-day settlement (earlier clearing window)
A dedicated account manager
Bulk payout capability for marketplace use cases
Advanced fraud rules and customisation
Priority phone support

Enterprise plan — bespoke pricing #

For high-volume merchants, Enterprise pricing is fully negotiated. Rates, settlement timing, fraud rules, integration support, and SLA commitments are all customised. There is no published threshold to qualify — if your business model needs custom payment flows, real-time settlement options, or a white-labelled checkout, contact our sales team to discuss.

What you won’t be charged for #

Pay@ Gateway operates a transparent fee model. You will never be charged for:

Creating an account
Receiving sandbox API access
Installing our WooCommerce, Shopify, or Wix plugins
Failed transactions (no fee on declines)
Authorisation-only transactions (only captured transactions are billed)
Daily settlement reports
Migrating from another gateway

What you might be charged for #

Beyond the per-transaction fees, there are a small number of scenarios that incur a charge:

PCI DSS re-certification support if your business needs to maintain a higher PCI compliance level — usually applies to Enterprise customers with custom integrations
Custom report development beyond our standard reporting suite — quoted per request
Onboarding fast-track service if you need same-day FICA processing outside the standard 24-hour SLA — quoted per request