Shopify Subscription Apps and SA payment gateways

[Roxstar]

I need guidance please - My Shopify store is near ready to go. It is a subscription box.
Here is the missing link: all the subscription apps on Shopify (e.g Bold, Recharge, Charge Rabbit: I need something prebuilt and easy-touse, as I am no coder) do not work with any SA payment gateways. They all use Stripe, Braintree or Authorise net etc, none of which are available in SA.

Payfast can perform recurring payments but it offers no subscription app, limited features (e.g. users cannot pause subscriptions) and looking at the instructions, they are not Shopify level easy.
So as a last resort, after hours of searching the web, how does one bridge the gap to get the UX functionality of a subscription box using only the basic paying function offered by SA gateways?

 

[Bryn]

Payments are one of the core pillars of a commerce site, and for countries outside the US are the primary factor in choosing a platform and plugin.

PayFast works perfectly fine with WooCommerce Subscriptions, and with a WordPress site you have no risk of your store disappearing overnight as with Shopify. I would have recommended a WooCommerce site for this project.

If you're truly stuck with Shopify, try make do with PayPal. The overall transaction fees will be a killer though.

 

[Roxstar]

Hi Bryn,

Thank you for your advice. I will have to relook and do my research with WooCommerce to explore their fees and commissions etc.

Thanks

 

[Praemon]

Payfast can perform recurring payments but it offers no subscription app, limited features (e.g. users cannot pause subscriptions) and looking at the instructions, they are not Shopify level easy.

Payfast's API does allow pausing and resuming subscriptions though. So the customer can pause the subscription if it's built into the Shopify plugin (not sure if they can do it directly in their Payfast account). If the plugin is maintained by Payfast, maybe they can add that feature in. Or request it from the plugin developer.

 

[Roxstar]

Hi Praemon, from my reading (and I'm totally green to all of this)
Yes it is the Shopify plug-in that is lacking the ability to do this. Seems there isn't something off-the-shelf. I might have to have it built.

WIth Payfast subs - only the merchant can pause and cancel subs on behalf of the customer. Which Im open to, if it is my only option, but if they could DIY that would be best and I think customers would feel more comfortable too.

 

[ld13]

Hi Bryn,
Thank you for your advice. I will have to relook and do my research with WooCommerce to explore their fees and commissions etc.

There ain't any fees with the base/free WooCommerce. There will never be any commissions, as you end up using the payfast plugin.

 

[Roxstar]

Thank you ☺