Accepting payments in South Africa: our Paystack integration guide

Paystack is a leading African payment gateway that lets your business accept card payments, bank transfers, and USSD payments online. If you're collecting subscription fees or invoice payments from clients, Paystack is the fastest way to get started.

How Paystack works

Paystack uses an API-first model: your server calls Paystack's Initialize Transaction endpoint to get an authorization_url. The customer completes payment on Paystack's hosted page. After payment, Paystack calls your webhook and redirects the customer back to your app with a transaction reference you can verify.

Webhook verification

Paystack signs every webhook using HMAC-SHA512 with your secret key. Always verify the x-paystack-signature header before processing any event. This prevents forged notifications from activating accounts without payment.

Komilfo's approach

In Komilfo's billing engine, Paystack is integrated as a first-class payment provider. The platform handles transaction initialization, webhook signature verification, subscription management, and automatic invoice creation when a payment succeeds.

• Subscription billing: Paystack Plans and Subscriptions API for recurring payments
• Once-off payments: Transaction initialization for invoice settlement
• Webhook handling: HMAC-SHA512 signature verification and idempotency
• ZAR & NGN native: Built for South African and Nigerian businesses

Setting up Paystack in Komilfo

Navigate to Settings → Billing → Payment Methods. Add your Paystack Secret Key (from your Paystack dashboard → Settings → API Keys). Komilfo handles webhook verification, subscription management, and payment reconciliation automatically.