South African Rand Pricing
PayBru's 5% platform fee plus Paystack's gateway fee come off the creator's earnings, not the member's payment.
PayBru is built for South Africa and prices everything in South African Rand (ZAR).
Why ZAR
Pricing everything in ZAR avoids the most common cross-border headaches:
- No FX conversion fees on top of your purchase.
- No exchange-rate surprises between checkout and the statement.
- Cleaner bank statements that match the amount you paid.
What you see at checkout is what comes off your card.
How ZAR Pricing Works
- Creators set tier prices, store prices, tip amounts, and events in ZAR.
- Members pay in ZAR through Paystack.
- Receipts, invoices, and monthly statements all show ZAR amounts.
- Fees are calculated in ZAR — no currency conversion in the middle.
What You Pay vs What the Creator Receives
When a member pays, three things are deducted before the creator's earnings update:
- PayBru platform fee — currently 5% on subscriptions, tips, the merch store, and crowdfunding/support flows. PayBru is working on referral incentives that can lower this for some creators over time.
- Paystack gateway fee — currently 2.9% + R1.00 per South African local card transaction, excluding VAT. Pay-by-Bank methods such as Ozow EFT and Capitec Pay can use different Paystack pricing. Paystack also charges VAT on its processing fee.
- Refunds, chargebacks, or adjustments if any apply later.
The leftover amount becomes the creator's earnings for that transaction. Creators see this breakdown in their dashboard.
Worked Example: R100 Membership
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Member pays | R100.00 |
| PayBru platform fee (5%) | −R5.00 |
| Paystack gateway fee (2.9% + R1.00, excluding VAT) | −R3.90 |
| VAT on the gateway fee | −R0.59 |
| Creator earnings (approximate) | R90.51 |
The exact creator amount may vary by a few cents because of rounding and tier promotions.
A Note on VAT
Two different VAT topics often get confused:
- VAT on the gateway fee — Paystack charges VAT on its processing fee in South Africa. This is part of PayBru's fee calculation, but receipts and statements do not break it out as a separate VAT line.
- VAT on what the creator sells — whether a creator must charge VAT on their own tier/store/event pricing depends on the creator's own SARS registration status. PayBru does not automatically add output VAT to creator prices. If a creator is VAT-registered they should price accordingly and may need to issue their own tax invoices outside PayBru.
To keep receipts and monthly statements simple, PayBru receipts and statements do not break out the VAT line. They show the total amount paid, the platform fee, and the gateway fee. You can use these as proof of payment, but they are not formal SARS tax invoices for the creator's supply.
If you need a tax invoice for a creator's services, please contact the creator directly.
What Members See
Each receipt shows:
- The creator and tier (or item) name.
- The ZAR amount charged.
- The platform fee and gateway fee that applied.
- The payment method used (e.g. last 4 digits of card).
- The billing period or order reference.
Download receipts from My Activity > My Payments in the Client Portal.
Monthly statements roll up all your activity for the month — see Receipts, Invoices, and Statements.
For Creators
Pricing in ZAR keeps your offer simple for South African members and easier to reconcile against your bank account. The standard 5% PayBru fee plus Paystack costs are the same whether you sell memberships, tips, or store items, so you can compare tier ideas like-for-like. See: