What can I use instead of Stripe in South Africa?

To sell software or digital products worldwide, a merchant of record that pays out to South Africa: Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo Payments. To take payments from local customers, local gateways such as Paystack, Yoco and Payfast.

How much does Paystack charge?

Local cards: 2.9% + R1.00, VAT exclusive. EFT: 2%. International cards: 3.1% + R1.00, VAT exclusive (another Paystack help article lists 2.9% + R1.00). That's as published on support.paystack.com. Who can sign up: Sole proprietors can sign up as a Starter Business (collection limit ZAR 1,000,000); a Registered Business has no collection limit.

Can I receive PayPal payments in South Africa?

Yes. Country site offers Send & Request payments and a Business menu with Accept Payments.

Can I use Stripe Atlas from South Africa?

Yes. No founder-country exclusion found; Atlas terms only name Prohibited Jurisdictions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea), none of which is South Africa.

Stripe in South Africa: is it available, and how to get paid

Not directly. Stripe lists South Africa in its Extended network, which sends businesses there to Paystack instead of a Stripe sign-up. Of the merchants of record we checked, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo Payments pay out to founders in South Africa. For local customers, Paystack, Yoco and Payfast take payments in ZAR.

Checked on 27 October 2026 against each provider's own pages. Remote Builders isn't paid by any provider listed here.

Global options for founders in South Africa

Provider	What it is	For South Africa	Detail	Source
Stripe	payment processor	Via partner	Marked Extended network; the country links to paystack.com/stripe/south-africa instead of Stripe sign-up	stripe.com
Stripe Atlas	US company formation	Yes	No founder-country exclusion found; Atlas terms only name Prohibited Jurisdictions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea), none of which is this country	stripe.com
Paddle	merchant of record	Yes	Not on Paddle's unsupported seller countries list	paddle.com
Lemon Squeezy	merchant of record	Yes	On the bank payout list (PayPal payouts also offered)	docs.lemonsqueezy.com
Polar	merchant of record	Yes	On Polar's payout countries list	polar.sh
Dodo Payments	merchant of record	Yes	On the accepted countries list. Eligibility follows the country that issued your government ID (and every director's and owner's ID)	docs.dodopayments.com
Wise Business	business account	Yes	On the list with no business-account restriction noted, so a business there can hold money and get account details to receive	wise.com
PayPal	wallet	Yes	Country site offers Send & Request payments and a Business menu with Accept Payments	paypal.com

Local gateways in South Africa

Gateway	Takes	Fee	Who can sign up	Source
Paystack	Cards and EFT; international cards including American Express, settled in ZAR	Local cards: 2.9% + R1.00, VAT exclusive. EFT: 2%. International cards: 3.1% + R1.00, VAT exclusive (another Paystack help article lists 2.9% + R1.00).	Sole proprietors can sign up as a Starter Business (collection limit ZAR 1,000,000); a Registered Business has no collection limit.	support.paystack.com
Yoco	Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay through payment links, invoices and a website gateway (Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix and others)	2.55 to 2.95% per online transaction, excluding VAT, with no monthly fee. No separate online rate for international cards is published.	Not stated	yoco.com
Payfast	Credit and cheque cards, Instant EFT, Capitec Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, SnapScan, Zapper, Scan to Pay, store cards and buy-now-pay-later options	Cards: 3.2% + R2.00 per transaction; Instant EFT and Capitec Pay: 2% (min R2.00). All ex VAT. Payouts cost R8.70 ex VAT each. No separate international card rate is published.	Not stated	payfast.io

Worth knowing in South Africa

What	Detail	Source
Local rail	PayShap is South Africa's instant interbank payment service, offered through participating banks.	payshap.co.za
Foreign card settlement	Paystack settles international card payments to South African businesses in ZAR, with the customer's bank doing the currency conversion.	support.paystack.com

Fees on the global options

Provider	Headline fee	Source
Stripe	2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction (US pricing page; currency not named)	stripe.com
Stripe Atlas	$500 one-time setup fee including government fees and the first year of registered agent, then $100 a year (currency not named)	stripe.com
Paddle	5% + 50¢ per checkout transaction (currency not named)	paddle.com
Lemon Squeezy	5% + 50¢ per transaction (currency not named); small extra fees can apply in edge cases	lemonsqueezy.com
Polar	5% + 50¢ per transaction on the free Starter plan for organisations created on or after 27 May 2026, plus 1.5% for non-US cards (currency not named)	polar.sh
Dodo Payments	4% + 40¢ per transaction, plus 1.5% for cards and payment methods outside the US (currency not named)	dodopayments.com
PayPal	US rates: 2.99% + fixed fee for card payments, 3.49% + fixed fee for PayPal Checkout; sellers in other countries pay their country's rates	paypal.com

Questions about getting paid in South Africa

Is Stripe available in South Africa?: Not directly. Stripe lists South Africa in its Extended network, which sends businesses there to Paystack instead of a Stripe sign-up. Checked on Stripe's global availability page on 27 October 2026.
What can I use instead of Stripe in South Africa?: To sell software or digital products worldwide, a merchant of record that pays out to South Africa: Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo Payments. To take payments from local customers, local gateways such as Paystack, Yoco and Payfast.
Which merchants of record pay out to South Africa?: Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo Payments.
How much does Paystack charge?: Local cards: 2.9% + R1.00, VAT exclusive. EFT: 2%. International cards: 3.1% + R1.00, VAT exclusive (another Paystack help article lists 2.9% + R1.00). That's as published on support.paystack.com. Who can sign up: Sole proprietors can sign up as a Starter Business (collection limit ZAR 1,000,000); a Registered Business has no collection limit.
Can I receive PayPal payments in South Africa?: Yes. Country site offers Send & Request payments and a Business menu with Accept Payments.
Can I use Stripe Atlas from South Africa?: Yes. No founder-country exclusion found; Atlas terms only name Prohibited Jurisdictions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea), none of which is South Africa.

Other countries

Argentina · Bangladesh · Colombia · Egypt · Georgia · Ghana · India · Indonesia · Kenya · Morocco · Nepal · Nigeria · Pakistan · Peru · Philippines · Sri Lanka · Turkey · Ukraine · Vietnam

To choose between a merchant of record, a US company and a local gateway, read Stripe not available in my country.

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Stripe: Via partner
Currency: ZAR (South African rand)
Merchants of record paying out: 4 of 4
Checked: 27 October 2026

Providers change their country lists and fees. Check each provider's own page before you sign up. Spotted something out of date? Tell us in the members' chat.