Ping API

It’s the digital equivalent of knocking on the door before entering the house.

Endpoint

GET https://api.payfast.co.za/ping

Sandbox vs Live

Live: call the endpoint as-is.
Sandbox: use the same endpoint with the testing flag:

GET https://api.payfast.co.za/ping?testing=true

The REST host is the same for both environments; sandbox behaviour is enabled via testing=true (and sandbox credentials).

Required headers

Header	Type	Required	Description
`merchant-id`	integer (8 chars)	✅	Your Merchant ID.
`version`	string	✅	API version (e.g. `v1`).
`timestamp`	ISO-8601 string	✅	`YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS[+HH:MM]` (must include offset).
`signature`	string (MD5)	✅	MD5 of all submitted header/body fields plus passphrase, alphabetised by key. Hex must be lowercase.

Signature primer (quick)

Build pairs for the fields you’re sending plus passphrase.
Alphabetise by key; URL-encode each value; join with &.
Exclude signature and testing.
MD5 the resulting string → send the lowercase hex as signature.

Example canonical string to hash (URL-encoded timestamp):

merchant-id=10000000&passphrase=•••&timestamp=2025-08-26T08%3A00%3A00%2B02%3A00&version=v1

Example responses

Live

"Payfast API"

Sandbox

"API"

Having trouble with the integration? Check this list of common errors and how to fix them.

Quick test (cURL)

curl -X GET "https://api.payfast.co.za/ping?testing=true" \
  -H "merchant-id: 10000000" \
  -H "version: v1" \
  -H "timestamp: 2025-08-26T08:00:00+02:00" \
  -H "signature: <md5-of-canonical-string>"

Related: Status API (platform-wide health)

If you need global system health (incidents, component status, maintenance) rather than a point ping from your app, use the Status API. Base: https://status.payfast.io/api

GET https://status.payfast.io/api/v2/summary.json
GET https://status.payfast.io/api/v2/status.json

📘
Need platform-wide health (incidents & maintenance) instead of a simple ping? See the Status API.