How to Set Up Payfast Recurring and Once-Off Billing in South Africa Using Drip AI CRM

South African businesses are rapidly moving toward automation, efficiency, and integrated systems to stay ahead in a competitive digital landscape. One of the cornerstones of digital transformation is enabling seamless online payments - especially recurring and once-off billing. In this article, we’ll explore how you can easily set up both Payfast recurring and once-off billing using Drip AI CRM, South Africa’s intelligent, all-in-one CRM and lead automation engine.

What Is Payfast Billing and Why It Matters

Payfast is one of South Africa's leading online payment gateways. Whether you're running a subscription-based service or selling one-time products, Payfast allows businesses to securely accept:

• Recurring billing: Automated payments for subscriptions, memberships, or services.
• Once-off billing: Single, upfront transactions for products or consultations.

Accepting online payments is no longer a luxury - it’s a customer expectation. But how do you simplify this into a system that runs on autopilot? That’s where Drip AI CRM comes in.

Why Recurring Billing Is a Game Changer

Setting up recurring billing means:

• Predictable Cash Flow: Know what’s coming in each month.
• Customer Retention: Automatically bill customers without additional effort.
• Reduced Admin Work: No chasing invoices or missed payments.
• Improved Customer Experience: Clients can “set it and forget it.”

By integrating this into your CRM, you also gain full visibility on customer behavior, payment patterns, and churn risk - all in one place.

Setting Up Payfast Billing with Drip AI CRM

Whether you're new to Payfast or already have an account, Drip AI CRM makes the process simple and intuitive.

Step 1: Connect Your Payfast Account

Log into Drip AI CRM and head to the “Billing Integration” section. Here, select Payfast and enter your merchant credentials (Merchant ID and Merchant Key).

Step 2: Create a Product or Service

Within the CRM, navigate to Products & Plans. You can:

• Set up a monthly subscription plan for recurring billing.
• Create once-off offers for single product sales or limited-time campaigns.

Drip AI lets you assign tags, triggers, and even AI-powered workflows based on customer behavior.

Step 3: Embed or Share the Payment Link

Generate a branded checkout link or button for your site, landing page, or SMS/WhatsApp campaigns. Drip AI CRM supports:

• One-click checkout pages
• WhatsApp/SMS integrations
• Email campaigns with embedded payment buttons

Step 4: Automate Post-Payment Workflows

Once payment is received, let Drip AI’s automation engine take over:

• Send a welcome email
• Assign tags to segment the user
• Trigger a WhatsApp onboarding flow
• Notify your sales team instantly

All without lifting a finger.

The Power of All-in-One: CRM + Billing + Automation

Many South African businesses struggle with fragmented tools - one for CRM, another for payments, a separate one for email, and maybe even a spreadsheet for lead tracking.

Drip AI CRM eliminates this chaos by offering:

• ✅ CRM and lead management
• ✅ AI-powered workflows
• ✅ Integrated Payfast billing
• ✅ Multi-channel campaigns (Email, WhatsApp, SMS)
• ✅ Pipeline and deal tracking
• ✅ Smart reporting and analytics

This isn’t just convenient - it’s transformative.

Why Choose Drip AI CRM?

Drip AI CRM is built for South African businesses that want power and simplicity without paying Silicon Valley prices. Here’s what sets it apart:

• Cost-Effective: All-in-one platform at a local price.
• AI Engine: Smart workflows, lead scoring, and behavior-based automation.
• Local Integrations: Designed for South African platforms like Payfast.
• Ease of Use: No tech team required to set up or manage.
• Instant ROI: Start seeing value from Day 1 - no long learning curves.

👉 Explore Full Feature Set Here

Final Thoughts

Recurring and once-off billing are no longer complex challenges -they're opportunities to unlock stable revenue and customer satisfaction. With Drip AI CRM and Payfast working hand-in-hand, you get a frictionless payment setup backed by AI-driven automation and all-in-one lead management.

Ready to simplify billing, boost conversion rates, and grow faster?

👉 Set up your free Drip AI CRM account today and start taking payments in minutes.

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