Payment Processing with Ozow

About Ozow

Starting Line uses Ozow for all payment processing:

What is Ozow?

• 🇿🇦 South Africa's leading instant EFT payment gateway
• ⚡ Real-time bank transfers
• 🔒 Bank-level security
• ✅ Supports all major SA banks
• 📱 Mobile-optimized payment flow

Benefits for Participants

• Instant Confirmation: Payment confirmed immediately
• Secure: No card details stored or transmitted
• Convenient: Use existing online banking credentials
• Fast: Complete payment in under 60 seconds
• Reliable: 99.9% uptime

Benefits for Organisers

• No Chargebacks: Bank transfers are final
• Lower Fees: Cheaper than card processing
• Instant Verification: Know immediately if payment succeeded
• Automated: No manual payment reconciliation needed

Payment Process

From Participant's Perspective

1. Complete registration form
2. Review order and click "Complete Payment"
3. Redirected to Ozow payment page
4. Select their bank
5. Log in with banking credentials (on bank's secure site)
6. Approve the payment
7. Instantly redirected back with confirmation
8. Receive email + WhatsApp confirmation with tickets

Behind the Scenes

1. Initiation: System creates secure payment request
2. Redirect: Participant sent to Ozow (encrypted connection)
3. Authentication: Bank verifies participant identity
4. Transfer: Funds transferred from participant to platform
5. Webhook: Ozow notifies our system of success
6. Order Creation: System creates order and tickets
7. Notifications: Emails and WhatsApp sent automatically
8. Settlement: Funds held for event completion

Payment Timeline

Event	Timing
Participant pays	Instant (< 60 seconds)
Order created	Within 5 seconds of payment
Confirmation sent	Immediately after order creation
Funds settled to platform	T+1 business day
Payout to organiser	7 days post-event

Security & Compliance

Security Measures

• 🔐 SSL/TLS Encryption: All data encrypted in transit
• 🏦 Bank-Grade Security: Same security as online banking
• ✅ PCI-DSS Compliant: Meets international standards
• 🔒 No Stored Credentials: We never see or store banking details
• 🛡️ Fraud Detection: Real-time fraud monitoring
• 📝 Audit Trails: Complete transaction logging

Data Protection

We protect participant data:

• Banking credentials never pass through our system
• Only transaction references stored
• POPIA compliant data handling
• Regular security audits

Payment Failures

If a payment fails:

• Participant redirected back with clear error message
• Registration data preserved for retry
• No partial charges (all-or-nothing)
• Participant can try again immediately

Supported Banks

Ozow supports all major South African banks:

• ABSA
• Standard Bank
• FNB
• Nedbank
• Capitec
• Discovery Bank
• TymeBank
• African Bank
• And more...