Goods and Services Prohibited for processing through PayFast

Goods and services prohibited for processing through PayFast

Compliance has become a very important part of our operations at PayFast and we have to be very mindful of the rules, regulations and requirements of various bodies governing our operation including the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA), the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), our partner banks and the card associations (Visa and Mastercard).


Compliance is categorised into:


1. No processing through PayFast 

2. Non-card processing


Card processing includes aggregated card processing (Visa and Mastercard), debit card processing and the Masterpass cashless app (debit, credit or cheque cards).


Non-card processing methods include Instant EFT, Mobicred and SCode etc.  


The goods and services prohibited for any processing through PayFast:


  1. Securities, business opportunities and multi-level marketing (pyramid schemes) 

  2. The pre-order of goods

  3. Illegal goods or services, including but not limited to counterfeit or intellectual infringing goods or services

  4. Pirated content or file sharing

  5. Key-entry telecom services (long distance services)

  6. Insurance brokers and Intermediary financial advisers

  7. Adult entertainment, sexually oriented or pornographic merchants, including but not limited to: sexual contact sites, escort agencies, pornography, adult pictures and photos and miscellaneous adult entertainment (not elsewhere mentioned)

  8. Any form of direct marketing activities (such as, but not limited to inbound and/or outbound telemarketing activities) and travel-related services

  9. Prescription and Biological medication (Over The Counter Medication and other Non-Prescription medication is conditionally allowed)

  10. No controlled substances or herbs and botanicals used to imitate the effects of actual controlled substances, including hallucinogenic, stimulant, or opioid-like effects

  11. Wholesale distribution of prescription drugs, proprietary drugs, vitamins, druggists’ sundries and toiletries, antiseptics, bandages, pharmaceuticals, and biological or related products. Retail sale is allowed

  12. Tobacco products 

A note on tobacco products: The sale of tobacco over the internet is not allowed by South African Law under the Tobacco Control Act (a) No person shall sell, offer to sell, supply, distribute or buy any tobacco product through the postal services, the internet or any other electronic media. 

Example: the sale of cigarettes, cigars and hubbly tobacco etc. 


  1. Commodity Investments which include natural resources such as oil, coal, gold as well as basic foods like corn, sugar, coffee etc. (Excluding CFDs)



The goods and services below are prohibited for card processing. Processing methods allowed for the below are EFT, Mobicred and SCode:


1. Bureau de change

2. Forex trading

3. Cryptocurrency

4. E-cigarettes vaping and vaping accessories

5. Insurance (we do not facilitate processing for insurance payout claims) 

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Please note: CBD products and hemp products are allowed to process with all payment methods (CBD products must contain no THC or have a maximum THC level of 0.3%).

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If your business is on the above list of 'prohibited for card processing', please contact us at merchantsupport@payfast.co.za when registering with PayFast so we can enable the non-card payment methods on your account.


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