PayFast Payment Gateway
Set up PayFast in WP Travel Engine so travelers can book trips on your site and pay securely in South African Rand.
Overview
PayFast Payment Gateway is an extension for WP Travel Engine that lets you accept trip and tour payments through PayFast, one of South Africa's popular merchant services.
A merchant service is a company that processes online payments for businesses. PayFast handles the payment side of things so you do not have to.
When a traveler books a trip on your website, they can choose PayFast at checkout. They then move to PayFast's secure payment page to complete the payment. The booking details stay on your site the whole time.
For example, say you run a 3-day Cape Town to Garden Route tour and a traveler books it on your site. They pick PayFast, enter their card details on PayFast's page, and the payment comes through to your account. You see the booking in your WordPress dashboard.
PayFast Payment Gateway requires the WP Travel Engine plugin to be installed. A plugin is a small add-on that gives your WordPress site extra features.
If WP Travel Engine is already running on your site, you are ready to set things up. The next section shows what to have with you before you begin.
What you'll need before you start
A few details need to be ready before you turn PayFast on. If you gather them first, the setup goes more smoothly.
- An active merchant account with PayFast. A merchant account is a business account that lets you accept online payments through a service like PayFast.
- Your Merchant Key from PayFast.
- Your Merchant ID from PayFast.
- A WordPress site with WP Travel Engine installed and active.
Payments can come from travelers in any country. Your site currency needs to be set to South African Rand (ZAR), because that is the currency PayFast works with.
For example, you might sell a Kruger National Park safari to a traveler in Johannesburg or a visitor from the UK. Both can pay through PayFast as long as your site is set to ZAR.
Once you have these details in front of you, you are ready to install the addon.
Install the PayFast addon
What you'll need before this step - access to your WordPress dashboard and the PayFast addon file from your account.
Your WordPress dashboard is the main control area for your website. After this part, the PayFast addon will be active on your site and ready to connect.
Download the extension
This gives you the addon file you need for your website.
Download the extension from your dashboard.
Upload the plugin folder
This puts the addon in the place where WordPress stores plugins.
Upload the folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory. This folder is where WordPress keeps its plugins.
Activate the plugin
This tells WordPress to start using the addon.
In your WordPress dashboard, look at the left sidebar and click Plugins.
Find WP Travel Engine – PayFast Payment Gateway and activate it.
Once the addon is active, the hard part is done. Next, you will connect it to your PayFast account.
Configure the gateway
What you'll need before this step - your PayFast Merchant Key and Merchant ID.
This part connects your website to your PayFast account. Once you save these settings, PayFast can appear as a payment option when someone books a trip.
Open Payment settings
This is where WP Travel Engine keeps your payment methods.
Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
On the left sidebar, click WP Travel Engine. Then click Settings. Then open Payments.
Select PayFast
This opens the settings for this payment method.
Look for PayFast in the payment options.
Click PayFast to open its settings.
Enter your merchant credentials
This tells PayFast that the payments coming from your site belong to your business.
Add your Merchant Key and Merchant ID.
Set the currency to ZAR
This makes sure travelers pay in South African Rand, which is the currency PayFast uses.
Go to WP Travel Engine > Settings > Miscellaneous and set the Currency Code to South African Rand (R).
For example, if you price a 5-day Drakensberg hiking trip at R8,500, the traveler sees and pays that amount in Rand through PayFast.
PayFast only works with South African Rand. If you also sell tours to travelers who prefer to pay in USD or EUR, you may want to look at other payment gateways that support those currencies.
If your currency is set to ZAR and your merchant details are saved, your payment setup is ready. The next section shows the two account details you will use.
PayFast account details
These are the two details you need from your PayFast account. Keep them handy while you go through the setup.
Your PayFast Merchant Key.
Your PayFast Merchant ID.
Once you enter these details, your website can send payment requests to PayFast. After that, your travelers are ready to use it at checkout.
What happens at checkout
Your traveler stays on your website while making the booking. When it is time to pay, they move to PayFast's secure payment page to complete the payment. The booking details stay on your site the whole time.
For example, a guest might book a weekend wine tour in Stellenbosch on your site and then finish the payment on PayFast's page. This gives you a clear handoff between booking and payment.
Once the payment goes through, you will see the booking in your WordPress dashboard. The traveler gets a confirmation email, and you are ready to prepare for the trip.
If you're still stuck or have a question we didn't cover, our support team is happy to help. Reach out at our support page and we'll get you sorted.