How do I install Payfast?

Payfast is a local plugin. Install it using npm package: payfast-mcp and add the generated configuration snippet to your AI app's MCP config file. Then restart your AI app.

What credentials does Payfast need?

Payfast requires the following credentials or environment variables: PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID, PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY, PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE, PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT. You can find setup instructions on the server detail page.

What AI apps work with Payfast?

Payfast uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and works with any MCP-compatible AI app, including Claude, ChatGPT / Codex, Gemini, Copilot, Cursor, and more.

Back to Browse

Payfast MCP Server

by Jpbester

Developer ToolsModerate5.5MCP RegistryLocal

Free

Server data from the Official MCP Registry

MCP server for PayFast — AI assistants interact with South Africa's payment gateway

About

MCP server for PayFast — AI assistants interact with South Africa's payment gateway

Security Report

5.5

Moderate5.5Moderate Risk

Valid MCP server (1 strong, 1 medium validity signals). 4 known CVEs in dependencies (1 critical, 2 high severity) Package registry verified. Imported from the Official MCP Registry.

5 files analyzed · 5 issues found

Security scores are indicators to help you make informed decisions, not guarantees. Always review permissions before connecting any MCP server.

Permissions Required

This plugin requests these system permissions. Most are normal for its category.

HTTP Network Access

Connects to external APIs or services over the internet.

What You'll Need

Set these up before or after installing:

Your PayFast merchant IDOptional

Environment variable: PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID

Your PayFast merchant keyRequired

Environment variable: PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY

Your PayFast API passphraseRequired

Environment variable: PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE

PayFast environment: 'sandbox' or 'production' (defaults to sandbox)Optional

Environment variable: PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT

How to Install

Add this to your MCP configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "io-github-jpbester-payfast": {
      "env": {
        "PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE": "your-payfast-passphrase-here",
        "PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT": "your-payfast-environment-here",
        "PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID": "your-payfast-merchant-id-here",
        "PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY": "your-payfast-merchant-key-here"
      },
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "payfast-mcp"
      ],
      "command": "npx"
    }
  }
}

Documentation

View on GitHub

From the project's GitHub README.

payfast-mcp

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for PayFast, South Africa's leading payment gateway. Enables AI assistants like Claude to securely interact with your PayFast merchant account.

Features

Transaction management — fetch transaction details, query history, process tokenized charges
Subscription management — fetch, pause, unpause, cancel, update, and ad-hoc charge subscriptions
Refund processing — create refunds (full or partial) and query refund status
Credit card queries — look up credit card transaction details
Sandbox support — defaults to sandbox mode for safe testing
Secure by design — credentials via environment variables only, sensitive data never logged

Available Tools

Tool	Description	Risk
`ping`	Test API connectivity	Low
`transaction_fetch`	Get transaction by ID	Low
`transaction_history`	Query transaction history	Low
`transaction_charge`	Charge a stored token	Medium
`subscription_fetch`	Get subscription details	Low
`subscription_pause`	Pause a subscription	High
`subscription_unpause`	Resume a subscription	Medium
`subscription_cancel`	Cancel a subscription	High
`subscription_update`	Update subscription terms	High
`subscription_adhoc`	Ad-hoc subscription charge	High
`refund_create`	Process a refund	High
`refund_fetch`	Get refund details	Low
`creditcard_fetch`	Query card transaction	Low

High-risk operations require human approval before execution.

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+
A PayFast merchant account (sandbox or production)

Installation

npm install -g payfast-mcp

Or run directly with npx:

npx payfast-mcp

Configuration

Set the following environment variables:

Variable	Required	Description
`PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID`	Yes	Your PayFast Merchant ID
`PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY`	Yes	Your PayFast Merchant Key
`PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE`	Yes	Your PayFast API Passphrase
`PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT`	No	`sandbox` (default) or `production`

You can also create a .env file in your working directory.

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "payfast": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "payfast-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID": "your-merchant-id",
        "PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY": "your-merchant-key",
        "PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE": "your-passphrase",
        "PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT": "sandbox"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Add to your Claude Code settings:

claude mcp add payfast \
  -e PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID=your-merchant-id \
  -e PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY=your-merchant-key \
  -e PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE=your-passphrase \
  -e PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT=sandbox \
  -- npx -y payfast-mcp

Cursor

Add to your Cursor MCP config (.cursor/mcp.json for project-level, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for global):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "payfast": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "payfast-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID": "your-merchant-id",
        "PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY": "your-merchant-key",
        "PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE": "your-passphrase",
        "PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT": "sandbox"
      }
    }
  }
}

Codex

Add via the Codex CLI:

codex mcp add payfast \
  --env PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID=your-merchant-id \
  --env PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY=your-merchant-key \
  --env PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE=your-passphrase \
  --env PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT=sandbox \
  -- npx -y payfast-mcp

Or add directly to ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.payfast]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "payfast-mcp"]

[mcp_servers.payfast.env]
PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID = "your-merchant-id"
PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY = "your-merchant-key"
PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE = "your-passphrase"
PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT = "sandbox"

Development

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/jpbester/payfast-mcp.git
cd payfast-mcp

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build
npm run build

# Run tests
npm test

# Run with MCP Inspector
npm run inspect

License

MIT

Reviews

No reviews yet

Be the first to review this server!

More Developer Tools MCP Servers

Git

Free

by Modelcontextprotocol · Developer Tools

Read, search, and manipulate Git repositories programmatically

Toleno

Free

by Toleno · Developer Tools

Toleno Network MCP Server — Manage your Toleno mining account with Claude AI using natural language.

mcp-creator-python

Free

by mcp-marketplace · Developer Tools

Create, build, and publish Python MCP servers to PyPI — conversationally.

MarkItDown

Free

by Microsoft · Content & Media

Convert files (PDF, Word, Excel, images, audio) to Markdown for LLM consumption

mcp-creator-typescript

Free

by mcp-marketplace · Developer Tools

Scaffold, build, and publish TypeScript MCP servers to npm — conversationally

FinAgent

Free

by mcp-marketplace · Finance

Free stock data and market news for any MCP-compatible AI assistant.

Payfast MCP Server

About

Security Report

Findings (5)Action required

Permissions Required

What You'll Need

How to Install

Documentation

payfast-mcp

Features

Available Tools

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Installation

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Claude Code

Cursor

Codex

Development

License

Reviews

No reviews yet

More Developer Tools MCP Servers

Git

Toleno

mcp-creator-python

MarkItDown

mcp-creator-typescript

FinAgent

Payfast MCP Server

About

Security Report

Findings (5)Action required

Permissions Required

What You'll Need

How to Install

Documentation

payfast-mcp

Features

Available Tools

Quick Start

Prerequisites

Installation

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Claude Code

Cursor

Codex

Development

License

Reviews

No reviews yet

More Developer Tools MCP Servers

Git

Toleno

mcp-creator-python

MarkItDown

mcp-creator-typescript

FinAgent