# payfast-mcp
A [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/) (MCP) server for [PayFast](https://www.payfast.co.za/), South Africa's leading payment gateway. Enables AI assistants like Claude to securely interact with your PayFast merchant account.
## Features
- **Transaction management** — fetch transaction details, query history, process tokenized charges
- **Subscription management** — fetch, pause, unpause, cancel, update, and ad-hoc charge subscriptions
- **Refund processing** — create refunds (full or partial) and query refund status
- **Credit card queries** — look up credit card transaction details
- **Sandbox support** — defaults to sandbox mode for safe testing
- **Secure by design** — credentials via environment variables only, sensitive data never logged
## Available Tools
| Tool | Description | Risk |
|------|-------------|------|
| `ping` | Test API connectivity | Low |
| `transaction_fetch` | Get transaction by ID | Low |
| `transaction_history` | Query transaction history | Low |
| `transaction_charge` | Charge a stored token | Medium |
| `subscription_fetch` | Get subscription details | Low |
| `subscription_pause` | Pause a subscription | High |
| `subscription_unpause` | Resume a subscription | Medium |
| `subscription_cancel` | Cancel a subscription | High |
| `subscription_update` | Update subscription terms | High |
| `subscription_adhoc` | Ad-hoc subscription charge | High |
| `refund_create` | Process a refund | High |
| `refund_fetch` | Get refund details | Low |
| `creditcard_fetch` | Query card transaction | Low |
High-risk operations require human approval before execution.
## Quick Start
### Prerequisites
- Node.js 18+
- A [PayFast merchant account](https://www.payfast.co.za/) (sandbox or production)
### Installation
```bash
npm install -g payfast-mcp
```
Or run directly with npx:
```bash
npx payfast-mcp
```
### Configuration
Set the following environment variables:
| Variable | Required | Description |
|----------|----------|-------------|
| `PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID` | Yes | Your PayFast Merchant ID |
| `PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY` | Yes | Your PayFast Merchant Key |
| `PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE` | Yes | Your PayFast API Passphrase |
| `PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT` | No | `sandbox` (default) or `production` |
You can also create a `.env` file in your working directory.
### Claude Desktop
Add to your Claude Desktop config (`claude_desktop_config.json`):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"payfast": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "payfast-mcp"],
"env": {
"PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID": "your-merchant-id",
"PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY": "your-merchant-key",
"PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE": "your-passphrase",
"PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT": "sandbox"
}
}
}
}
```
### Claude Code
Add to your Claude Code settings:
```bash
claude mcp add payfast \
-e PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID=your-merchant-id \
-e PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY=your-merchant-key \
-e PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE=your-passphrase \
-e PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT=sandbox \
-- npx -y payfast-mcp
```
### Cursor
Add to your Cursor MCP config (`.cursor/mcp.json` for project-level, or `~/.cursor/mcp.json` for global):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"payfast": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "payfast-mcp"],
"env": {
"PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID": "your-merchant-id",
"PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY": "your-merchant-key",
"PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE": "your-passphrase",
"PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT": "sandbox"
}
}
}
}
```
### Codex
Add via the Codex CLI:
```bash
codex mcp add payfast \
--env PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID=your-merchant-id \
--env PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY=your-merchant-key \
--env PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE=your-passphrase \
--env PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT=sandbox \
-- npx -y payfast-mcp
```
Or add directly to `~/.codex/config.toml`:
```toml
[mcp_servers.payfast]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "payfast-mcp"]
[mcp_servers.payfast.env]
PAYFAST_MERCHANT_ID = "your-merchant-id"
PAYFAST_MERCHANT_KEY = "your-merchant-key"
PAYFAST_PASSPHRASE = "your-passphrase"
PAYFAST_ENVIRONMENT = "sandbox"
```
## Development
```bash
# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/jpbester/payfast-mcp.git
cd payfast-mcp
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Build
npm run build
# Run tests
npm test
# Run with MCP Inspector
npm run inspect
```
## License
MIT
