well-designed, robust websites that are effective tools for our clients. We also firmly believe in the principles of environmental conservation and highlighting the benefits of an eco-friendly lifestyle.

For that reason, we’re proud to have developed these websites for three of our clients.

Alternagy

is an online shop, designed specifically for eco-friendly consumers. Alternagy makes it easy for clients to purchase solar energy and wind-power products from the comfort of their home. Alternagy strives to deliver eco-friendly alternatives to customers, without compromising on quality. Alternagy also provides information on environmentally friendly practices and products, which works as a useful knowledge base for eco-friendly living.

Using WordPress as a foundation, we created an online store and blog for Alternagy that provided their customers with a simple and seamless online shopping experience. In terms of design, we opted for a textured and warm feel, while still keeping the site clean and fresh, a concept that perfectly aligned with the content and purpose of the website.

Greenpages

exists to increase awareness of environmentally friendly initiatives, companies and products. An online directory, Greenpages houses comprehensive information on a wide range of environmentally friendly or green-focused service providers, businesses and facilities.

Greenpages needed a site developed where they could easily edit all the directory listings themselves. We used WordPress to deliver the content management system they desired, while also focusing on creating a clean, uncluttered, as well as user-friendly website.

Afristar Foundation

is a Non-Governmental Organisation focused on the design and implementation of sustainable development initiatives. Afristar works to educate, train, and engage the people in the development of sustainable models for ecological human settlement and local economic development that facilitate the ethics of care of people and care of the Earth. They promote and demonstrate sustainable solutions to everyday problems.

With that, Afristar needed a content-rich website, that was easy on the eye, simple to navigate and pleasant to visit. Using WordPress, we were able to integrate all the navigational elements Afristar required, into an attractive package. Moreover, we were able to beautifully place all of their important content into neat compartments, whilst ensuring that the website didn’t become too “heavy”. We also put together an online shop for Afristar, where users of their website can order educational resources, posters and promotional items. They also make a range of free educational resources available for download.

We love what we do, every day. And like many may of our eco-conscious clients, we hope that love goes towards making a greater contribution in some way.

Know Your Meme

We know all too well the power of the meme. Memes can sometimes appear to take over the Internet. They gradually (or rather quickly) become cultural icons and are reproduced for a variety of purposes. Know Your Meme is the quintessential meme database and cleverly categorises memes across the globe, serving up the best of what’s new in the world of memes. If you ever find us giggling at our screens over a cuppa, we’re probably looking at this site.

The Oatmeal

Toe-curlingly hilarious and sometimes quite poignant, The Oatmeal is the brainchild of Matthew Inman. A comic artist, Matthew takes aim at many aspects of life, in a funny and quirky manner. He’s approached topics including loss, friendships, Facebook and the state of the Internet in general. Matthew cites Gary Larson as one of his biggest influences, and we’ve always loved The Far Side!

WonderHowTo

Have you ever wondered how to fold an origami bomber jet? Or have you ever contemplated hacking your old Game Boy and making it into an awesome Android Gamepad? If you have, WonderHowTo can help! A repository of some of the world’s zaniest and useful ideas, WonderHowTo is filled with instructional video guides to help you create wonderful things!

Classic Arcade Games

It may not be the most visually appealing site, but Classic Arcade Games lets you kick back and enjoy some of your favourite arcade games that, in all likelihood, you enjoyed as a child. The classics, like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong are all there, along with Super Mario Brothers and  – of course the ultimate time waster – Tetris! Sit back and enjoy all these classic arcade games!

Ffffound!

At The Forge, we love to create beautiful things, so it’s only apt that we love to look at beautiful images too! Ffffound! Is an invitation-only web service that enables users to share their favourite images found on the web. found on the Ffffound! also recommends content according to users’ preferences, tastes and interests, making it a sleek and pretty image-bookmarking experience. It’s a spam-free, beautiful experience to visit, and we love popping in for some true inspiration!

Any other sites we should check out? Let us know …

It’s a mix of bold geometric shapes, typography, textures, and minimalism. Hopefully that all translates into an engaging user experience that tells a sort of visual story, as well as focus attention.

Well, thats the pretentious rundown.

Actually, our goal is just to produce an awesome website. We hope you like it.

We might do a little more of a case study on this site at a later date – going more in depth into the design and development, but quite frankly, we just want to go live with this baby right now.

Let us know what you think, we would love to hear your thoughts.

First off, you are very welcome for the above photograph. Have you ever seen that episode of Seinfeld called “The Package”?

I kindly asked Andre recently to write up the bio blurb for me on this website. He made the mistake of taking it as an opportunity to write why he thinks I’m a flaky hipster. I have editorial power, and this is his punishment for the attempt. Why hello there Fancy Boy!

But I digress

Moving along. Last week we had Catherine come in to take some photos of the team for our new website. We have quite a few photophobic people here, so it was an unenviable task to get everyone in front of the camera and not pulling strange faces. The end results were pretty awesome, with quite a few really stunning shots for the most camera shy (Brenton, Sue, Dee).

The whole thing turned out to be a lot of fun, and we would really like to thank Catherine for her patience and skill.

Sue and I ran around snapping (behind the schemes) shots with our iPhones.

Here are a few shots from the day:

Download our Guide to South African Payment Gateways

PayPal

The most well-known global payment gateway is PayPal (www.paypal.com). Even though a South African developed PayPal, the company did not offer merchant services to South African based companies for a long time. This changed in 2010 and It’s now relatively simple to setup a PayPal account in South Africa. PayPal charges no setup or cancellation fees and offers transaction rates as low as 2.4% to 3.4%, plus $0.30 USD.

Clients can choose between the PayPal Express Checkout, which provides a seamless checkout for PayPal account holders via an API integration or the PayPal Standard Checkout, where PayPal authorizes payments and then returns the online customer to your website.

Pay4It

Pay4It provides e-commerce solutions for small to medium businesses. A subsidiary of REDi Internet Services, Pay4It will even host and develop the online retailer’s website and make it entirely ready for e-commerce transactions. Pay4It charges a R750 +VAT once-off setup fee, a R250 monthly subscription fee and levies a 6% fee on each transaction. Pay4It does not require online retailers to register a merchant account with their bank before registering.

Pay4It is a one-stop-shop for all online e-Commerce requirements and offers its clients a full portfolio of web design and development services, in addition to its payment gateway services. Pay4It will also happily send clients a full integration guideline document and allow client’s developers access to the Pay4It technical team, to assist with the integration process.

Website Address: www.pay4it.co.za
Contact Number: 0866 09 7334
Email Address: info@redi.co.za

Sage Netcash

Sage Netcash transacts directly with 4 of the larger banks – Standard Bank, First National Bank, ABSA and Nedbank, and through Bankserv, with the smaller banks and is able to guarantee service levels and payment clearance times.

Primarily used by retailers as a debit order collection service, it also enables retailers to add a payment gateway service to their websites. Sage Netcash requires online retailers to register online and will then respond with a service agreement for completion by the retailer. Sage NetCash caters both for merchant account holders and for sole proprietors and is willing to sign up a sole proprietor, once assessed via their personal bank account.

Sage Netcash prides itself on a quick turn-around time with registrations and does not lock its clients into a fixed time frame contract. Furthermore, online retailers can cancel their registration with Sage Netcash at any time should they be dissatisfied with the service, without incurring any penalties or cancellation fees. Sage Netcash charge a R450 setup fee, with a R160 per month retainer. Sage Netcash charges R1 per transaction, plus 5% of the transaction value.

Sage Netcash focuses on creating and implementing efficient and easy payment gateway services and as such, the data validation component of their systems is available to all clients, as a web service which can be integrated into the client website or account management software. Sage Netcash’s portfolio of services also includes a comprehensive reporting system.

Website Address: www.netcash.co.za
Contact Number: 0861 338 338
Email Address: service@netcash.co.za

MonsterPay

MonsterPay is the favoured choice for smaller businesses. MonsterPay is a Setcom company and does not charge a setup or monthly subscription fee. MonsterPay’s transaction fees are also the lowest in this category, with a 2.9% per-transaction fee, plus R2.

MonsterPay provides a variety of payment gateway tools and integration tools for clients’ websites. Integration tools offered include: Auto-Redirect, Auto-Post and Synchronization facilities. A full implementation and integration guide is available for download from theMonsterPay website.

MonsterPay also offers a wide range of selling tools for its clients. These include a shopping cart; Buy Now and Checkout buttons; catalogue and mail listing; customizable payment pages; a shipping calculator; tax calculator and downloadable statements.

Website Address: www.monsterpay.com
Contact Number: 083 913 0000
Email Address: http://www.monsterpay.com/email.cfm

SID

SID is another Setcom company and it provides the only instant EFT service in South Africa, called SID Payment. SID Payment is an assisted EFT (electronic funds transfer) that allows the customer to make payment directly to a merchant using their existing Internet banking facility.

If a customer has never used SID before, they will be asked to run the application. The customer will then be directed to their chosen bank site where they can login to make payment. The merchant’s banking details will be pre-populated on the payments page. Once the customer completes the payment and receives the receipt, their order will be fulfilled straight away, without having to fax the confirmation to the merchant. SID merchants save substantially on banking fees, plus SID transactions are charged at only 1.5% per transaction, which cuts down even more on costs for the merchant.

Website Address: www.sidpayment.com
Contact Number: 011 555 1101
Email Address: http://www.sidpayment.com/email.aspx

2CheckOut

2CheckOut offers a payment gateway service with no waiting period and no term contracts. 2CheckOut also supports recurring billing and will work with existing shopping carts.

A signup fee of $49USD is levied by 2CheckOut with a 5.5% commission on each transaction, along with a $0.45USD charge per transaction. With no monthly, gateway or statement fees, 2CheckOut also makes it possible for customers to purchase products with PayPal, as well as the most popular online payment methods.

2CheckOut provides its clients with an easy to integrate payment gateway service, which will work with many existing shopping carts and includes a range of comprehensive account management tools. 2CheckOut clients are required to maintain a website containing complete marketing, advertising and product information themselves.

Website Address: www.2checkout.com
Contact Number: https://www.2checkout.com/contact
Email Address: https://support.2co.com/deskpro/newticket.php

Payfast

PayFast does not charge monthly fees – only per-transaction fees.
PayFast is geared towards South African sellers (who serve both local and international buyers) and is constantly looking for innovative new ways to serve this market. PayFast is used by individuals, businesses and charities. Charities enjoy a per-transaction fee that is lower than for businesses and individuals.

When a buyer makes a purchase, the funds (minus a nominal fee) will immediately reflect in your PayFast account. By generating a Payout, the funds are moved to your South African bank account of choice. In addition to credit card payments, Instant EFT makes up more than half of their transac- tions. Instant EFT allows buyers to pay via a bank transfer with South Africa’s biggest four banks which gets verified instantly. This is a PayFast patented system and these transactions don’t run the risk of repudiation/costly chargebacks.

PayFast also processes Ukash; vouchers that are available at over 420,000 retail locations all across the world and mimoney; a virtual currency backed by Standard Bank which resides on your mobile phone. They are working on integrating with PayD which will allow you to process PIN-enabled debit cards, sometime in 2012.

Their per-transaction fees are outlined on https://www.payfast.co.za/s/std/fees and they don’t charge any setup or monthly fees.

PayFast provides a number of pre-built modules for a number of eCommerce engines/shopping carts, including Jigoshop, Magento, MarketPress, Opencart, WordPress WP eCommerce and Woocommerce. A complete list can be seen at www.payfast.co.za/s/std/shopping-carts

PayFast also integrates with Vendorshop, which allows sellers to run promotions, engage with fans and sell products or services right from their Facebook page, without the need for a dedicated shopping cart.

Lastly, they have some of the highest standards of security in the field, with a myriad of checks, as outlined here: https://www.payfast.co.za/s/std/security. PayFast customers include bidorbuy (Africa’s largest marketplace), takealot.com, MedicAlert, Ticketpros, CityMob and more.

Website Address: https://www.payfast.co.za
Contact Number: 0861 729 327
Email Address: support@payfast.co.za

evriPay

evriPay does not charge monthly or set-up fees – only per-transaction fees. evriPay currently provides processing for transactions in South Africa, but will soon provide these services in other African countries.

evriPay is focussed on small and new businesses and will get a business up and trading immediately after the application form has been successfully completed. All applications are completed online.

evriPay currently provides two products for eCommerce. “Express” is a typical “Buy Button” and requires the business to have a website, while PayMi (pronounced “pay me”) is an electronic invoice with the card payment embedded in it. evriPay does not charge setup or monthly fees. Credit card transactions are charged at 3.4% of the transaction, plus R2.70.

Website Address: www.evripay.com
Contact Number: 011 269 4012
Email Address: info@evripay.com

Related: South African Payment Gateways that require bank registration.

Download our Guide to South African Payment Gateways

Download our Guide to South African Payment Gateways

Virtual Card Services

Virtual Card Services was established in 1996, works with ABSA, Nedbank, Standard Bank and First National Bank and has more than 50 years’ collective experience in developing and implementing credit, debit and smartcard processing systems for all of the major card issuers in South Africa.

In order for an online retailer to register with VCS, the retailer must register with their bank as a Credit Card Merchant. Once registered, the retailer will receive a Merchant Number and, using this, can register for VCS services.

In terms of VCS fees, VCS does not charge to setup a retailer. Volume Discounts can be negotiated with VCS, based on the retailer’s transaction processing history. No setup bank fees are levied for new Internet Merchant applications for users who utilize the services of Nedbank. Users with First National Bank will pay a Bank fee of R399, and for Standard Bank customers, a charge of R500 is levied. ABSA clients will have their bank fee negotiated with VCS. Commission on all transactions through an ABSA account carry a negotiable levy whilst a commission fee of between 5 and 7% applies when transacting with a First National Bank, Nedbank or Standard Bank account. ABSA clients pay a R120 administration fee as well. The minimum monthly amount for a Standard Bank client is R150, whilst for First National Bank clients it is R399 and Nedbank clients need a minimum monthly of R500.

VCS provides its clients with full interfacing instructions, to enable the client’s web design and development team to integrate the VCS payment gateway into an e-Commerce website. Merchant web sites must pass parameters (i.e. reference number, description and amount to VOnline via the Pay buttons). Sample code will be provided on approval of a VCS application.

Website Address: www.vcs.co.za
Contact Number: 082 561 7525
Email Address: support@vcs.co.za

Setcom

Setcom is another payment service where bank registration is required to accept credit card payments. The credit card acquiring is done directly with ABSA, FNB or Standard Bank.

Setcom provides the technology to link the website to the banks. Setcom charges a fixed transaction fee of R1.50 per transaction and not transaction percentage fee.

Website Address: www.setcom.co.za
Contact Number: 011 555 1110
Email Address: http://www.setcom.co.za/emailus.cfm

Paygate

Paygate has been around since 1996 and is therefore being used extensively on websites around the country. Credit cards accepted include Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Diners Club. PayGate provides a number of different solutions to merchants, which are easy to use and extremely cost effective for online merchants and retailers.

Paygate requires online retailers to register as a merchant at their bank and will supply you with a quote for joining, once you enquire here: https://www.paygate.co.za/pricing.php.

Paygate focuses its services entirely on being a specialist payment services provider and leaves the web design and development to the experts. Paygate provides code samples, payment modules, logos and documentation for download on its website, to enable clients development teams to easily integrate the Paygate system into their e-Commerce website.

Website Address: www.paygate.co.za
Contact Number: 0861 102 172
Email Address: support@paygate.co.za

IVeri

IVeri is offered by Nedbank. The iVeri Payment Gateway is a comprehensive solution that meets all the essential requirements of a true multi-channel card payments system and enables online retailers to access a range of services, from remote payment devices to full-scale monitoring of all transactions in real-time.

The key to the success of the iVeri Payment Gateway is that it offers a range of acceptance channels, which provides more ways to accept payments and therefore more transactions.

The iVeri Payment Gateway is a flexible yet robust and reliable solution that truly gives sellers a competitive edge in the market. Nedbank’s IVeri is a simple way to add payment facilities to a website. The IVeri Lite service requires very little integration, and is aimed at Internet merchants who have limited technical resources. On checkout, the cardholder is redirected to a secure payment page that is hosted by IVeri. This simplifies the integration and saves time. The Iveri Enterprise service is ideal for medium to large e-Commerce websites. The Enterprise service leaves database storage, formatting and development entirely at the discretion of the clients’ web design and development team. IVeri’s systems provide advanced security and transaction monitoring, in real-time.

Website Address: www.iveri.com
Contact Number: 0860 114 966
Email Address: support@iveri.co.za

MyGate

MyGate Financial Switching and Verification Platform enables customers to have one point of contact for all of their Payment, Collection and Verification needs. MyGate is a registered Payment Service Provider (PSP) offering payment gateway services which enables merchants to accept credit card and pin-less debit cards from a website or MOTO (Mail Order/Telephone Order) environment.

The MyGate Payment Gateway has an extensive range of Alternative Payment Methods that consist of Cell PayPoint, MiMoney and eBucks. Merchants can view and manage online transactions through MyGate Web Console.

MyGate currently works with all four major Banks in South Africa and assists all its clients in setting up their merchant accounts with the banks.

MyGate prides itself on being one of the most cost effective and innovative payment gateways in South Africa and focuses on guiding clients through each step of setting up their e-commerce websites, providing clients with all necessary technical API and various transactions reporting to ease transaction management.

Website Address: www.mygate.co.za
Contact Number: 021 555 3260
Email Address: sales@mygate.co.za

Payza

Payza specialises in e-commerce processing, corporate disbursements and remittances for individuals and businesses around the world. The e-wallet platform provides Payza members worldwide with convenient and flexible loading and withdrawal options, such as localized bank transfers, global bank wires, credit/debit card, checks, prepaid cards, among others. Payza also caters for the business owner who runs more than one business, and lets users accept payments from different websites, via a single Payza Business account.

Payza offers three types of accounts: a free Personal Starter Account for the beginner retailer or online shopper, the Personal Pro Account geared towards the more established and regular retailer or online shopper, and the Business Account.

Whilst all types of accounts are free to open, the Personal Starter Account transaction fees are nil for sending and receiving money. Users can receive up to $400 per month without paying receiving fees. It is free to add funds and costs $15 USD to withdraw funds. On the Personal Pro and Business Accounts, it costs 2.5% of the transaction value, plus $0.25 USD for e-wallet payments. Users can send and receive funds in their own currency or in any of the Payza supported currencies for a low 2.5% spread over the daily exchange rate. The Corporate Disbursements (Mass Pay) feature lets users send payments to a few people or to a few hundred with just a click of the mouse. A detailed history of your payment records can be quickly and conveniently accessed.

Website Address: www.payza.com
Email Address: https://helpdesk.payza.com/index.php?/Tickets/Submit

South African Banks:

FNB: 087 575 9404
Standard Bank: 0860 123 000
NedBank: 0860 555 111
ABSA: 0860 008 600

Related: South Africa Payment Gateways that don’t require bank registration.

Download our Guide to South African Payment Gateways