PayFast Subscriptions API

openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: PayFast Credit Card Transactions Subscriptions API
  description: 'South African payment gateway providing REST APIs for online payment processing, subscription billing, tokenized recurring card payments, onsite checkout, and merchant refunds. Trusted by 80,000+ South African businesses and certified PCI-DSS Level 1.

    '
  version: v1
  contact:
    name: PayFast Developer Support
    url: https://support.payfast.help
  license:
    name: Proprietary
    url: https://payfast.io
servers:
- url: https://api.payfast.co.za/v1
  description: Production API server
- url: https://sandbox.payfast.co.za/v1
  description: Sandbox / test server
security:
- merchantAuth: []
tags:
- name: Subscriptions
  description: Manage recurring billing subscription agreements
paths:
  /subscriptions/{token}/fetch:
    get:
      operationId: fetchSubscription
      summary: Fetch subscription details
      description: Retrieve the current details of a recurring billing subscription by its token.
      tags:
      - Subscriptions
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/subscriptionToken'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Subscription details returned successfully
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/SubscriptionResponse'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /subscriptions/{token}/pause:
    put:
      operationId: pauseSubscription
      summary: Pause a subscription
      description: Pause a recurring billing subscription for a specified number of billing cycles.
      tags:
      - Subscriptions
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/subscriptionToken'
      requestBody:
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: object
              properties:
                cycles:
                  type: integer
                  description: Number of cycles to pause the subscription for (0 = indefinitely)
                  example: 1
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Subscription paused successfully
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/SubscriptionActionResponse'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /subscriptions/{token}/unpause:
    put:
      operationId: unpauseSubscription
      summary: Unpause a subscription
      description: Resume a paused recurring billing subscription.
      tags:
      - Subscriptions
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/subscriptionToken'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Subscription unpaused successfully
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/SubscriptionActionResponse'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /subscriptions/{token}/cancel:
    put:
      operationId: cancelSubscription
      summary: Cancel a subscription
      description: Permanently cancel a recurring billing subscription agreement.
      tags:
      - Subscriptions
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/subscriptionToken'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Subscription cancelled successfully
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/SubscriptionActionResponse'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /subscriptions/{token}/update:
    patch:
      operationId: updateSubscription
      summary: Update subscription parameters
      description: 'Update one or more parameters of an existing recurring billing subscription such as billing cycles, frequency, run date, or amount.

        '
      tags:
      - Subscriptions
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/subscriptionToken'
      requestBody:
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: object
              properties:
                cycles:
                  type: integer
                  description: Number of remaining billing cycles
                  example: 12
                frequency:
                  type: integer
                  description: 'Billing frequency (3=monthly, 4=quarterly, 5=biannually, 6=annually)

                    '
                  enum:
                  - 3
                  - 4
                  - 5
                  - 6
                  example: 3
                run_date:
                  type: string
                  format: date
                  description: Next billing run date (YYYY-MM-DD)
                  example: '2026-07-01'
                amount:
                  type: integer
                  description: New billing amount in cents (ZAR)
                  example: 9900
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Subscription updated successfully
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/SubscriptionActionResponse'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
  /subscriptions/{token}/adhoc:
    post:
      operationId: adhocSubscriptionCharge
      summary: Adhoc charge on subscription token
      description: 'Process an adhoc (one-off) charge against an existing recurring billing or tokenization token without requiring a new payment flow.

        '
      tags:
      - Subscriptions
      parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/subscriptionToken'
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/AdhocChargeRequest'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Adhoc charge processed successfully
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/AdhocChargeResponse'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
components:
  schemas:
    ErrorResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        code:
          type: integer
          description: HTTP error code
          example: 400
        status:
          type: string
          description: Error status
          example: failed
        data:
          type: object
          properties:
            response:
              type: string
              description: Error message
              example: Required "token" parameter missing
    SubscriptionActionResponse:
      type: object
      description: Response from a subscription state-change action
      properties:
        code:
          type: integer
          example: 200
        status:
          type: string
          example: success
        data:
          type: object
          properties:
            response:
              type: boolean
              description: Whether the action was successful
              example: true
            message:
              type: string
              description: Human-readable result message
              example: Subscription paused
    AdhocChargeRequest:
      type: object
      required:
      - amount
      - item_name
      properties:
        amount:
          type: integer
          description: Charge amount in cents (ZAR)
          example: 5000
        item_name:
          type: string
          description: Description of the item being charged
          maxLength: 100
          example: Premium plan upgrade
        item_description:
          type: string
          description: Additional description
          maxLength: 255
          example: One-time upgrade charge
        cc_cvv:
          type: integer
          description: Card CVV (when required for adhoc charge)
          example: 123
    AdhocChargeResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        code:
          type: integer
          example: 200
        status:
          type: string
          example: success
        data:
          type: object
          properties:
            response:
              type: boolean
              example: true
            message:
              type: string
              example: Adhoc charge processed
    SubscriptionResponse:
      type: object
      description: Details of a recurring billing subscription
      properties:
        code:
          type: integer
          description: Response code
          example: 200
        status:
          type: string
          description: Response status
          example: success
        data:
          type: object
          properties:
            response:
              type: object
              properties:
                token:
                  type: string
                  format: uuid
                  description: Subscription token
                  example: dc0521d3-55fe-269b-fa00-b647310d760f
                amount:
                  type: integer
                  description: Subscription billing amount in cents (ZAR)
                  example: 9900
                cycles:
                  type: integer
                  description: Total number of billing cycles
                  example: 12
                cycles_complete:
                  type: integer
                  description: Number of billing cycles completed
                  example: 3
                frequency:
                  type: integer
                  description: Billing frequency code
                  enum:
                  - 3
                  - 4
                  - 5
                  - 6
                  example: 3
                run_date:
                  type: string
                  format: date
                  description: Next scheduled billing date
                  example: '2026-07-01'
                status:
                  type: integer
                  description: Subscription status (1=active, 0=cancelled)
                  example: 1
                status_text:
                  type: string
                  description: Human-readable status
                  example: Active
  parameters:
    subscriptionToken:
      name: token
      in: path
      required: true
      description: Unique token identifying the subscription or tokenization agreement
      schema:
        type: string
        format: uuid
      example: dc0521d3-55fe-269b-fa00-b647310d760f
  responses:
    Unauthorized:
      description: Unauthorized — invalid or missing merchant authentication signature
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
    BadRequest:
      description: Bad request — missing or invalid parameters
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
  securitySchemes:
    merchantAuth:
      type: apiKey
      in: header
      name: merchant-id
      description: 'PayFast API authentication uses an MD5 signature derived from the merchant ID, passphrase, timestamp, and request data. Required headers include merchant-id, version, timestamp, and signature.

        '