Payfast
Connect PayFast so your AI agent can help you integrate South Africa’s payment gateway while you build checkout, billing, and webhook flows.
Overview
PayFast MCP is a Build-phase MCP server that lets AI coding agents interact with PayFast’s South African payment gateway using merchant credentials over stdio.
What is this MCP server?
- stdio MCP server published as payfast-mcp on npm (v1.0.1)
- Merchant ID, merchant key, and passphrase supplied via required environment variables
- Sandbox or production via PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT (defaults to sandbox)
- Built for South African PayFast: cards, EFT, and local payment rails
- Lets Claude Code, Cursor, and similar agents operate PayFast without leaving the IDE
- Server version 1.0.1 on npm identifier payfast-mcp
- stdio transport; 3 required env vars (merchant ID, key, passphrase) plus optional PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT defaulting to sand
What problem does it solve?
Solo builders integrating PayFast must juggle merchant keys, passphrase signing, and sandbox vs production docs while their agent cannot call the gateway directly.
Who is it for?
Solo or indie builders with a PayFast merchant account shipping SA-facing SaaS, APIs, or online sales through Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex.
Skip if: Builders with no South African payment need, teams that refuse MCP env secrets, or anyone wanting fully managed billing with zero gateway configuration.
What do I get? / Deliverables
After you register payfast-mcp with PayFast env vars, your agent can drive PayFast-related implementation tasks from the IDE instead of manual dashboard-only workflows.
- MCP server entry pointing at payfast-mcp with PayFast env vars configured
- Selectable sandbox or production PayFast environment for agent-driven work
- Agent-accessible PayFast gateway operations during integration sessions
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Journey fit
Payment providers are wired into the product during Build, when backends, checkout, and third-party APIs come together. PayFast is an external payments API accessed from your agent—same shelf as other gateway and SaaS integrations.
How it compares
stdio MCP payment-gateway bridge, not an agent skill playbook or a skills marketplace listing.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is io.github.jpbester/payfast for?
Solo and indie developers in South Africa (or selling to SA customers) who use MCP-enabled coding agents and already have or plan a PayFast merchant account.
When should I use io.github.jpbester/payfast?
Use it during Build when you are integrating checkout, payment links, subscriptions, or ITN webhooks and want your agent to work against PayFast sandbox or production.
How do I add io.github.jpbester/payfast to my agent?
Install the npm package payfast-mcp, add it as an MCP server with stdio transport, and set PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID, PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY, PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE, and optionally PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT to sandbox or production.