Customer identity verification

Customer identity verificationCustomer Identity Verification Checking that the payment instrument belongs to the natural person making the payment. Ozow requires it for merchants it has classified as high-risk, on Pay by Bank, Absa Pay, Capitec Pay, Nedbank Direct EFT, FNB Payment Requests and PayShap Request, and can disable those methods where it is not implemented correctly. confirms that the payment instrument belongs to the person making the payment. You verify your customer when they sign up on your platform, then pass their verified South African ID number or foreign passport number to Ozow with every payment request. Ozow uses it to decide which payment methods and banks to show that customer.

How it works#

• Verify the customer at signup: verify your customer's identity when they create an account on your platform, using any trusted third-party KYC provider.
• Store the verified number: save the verified SA ID or foreign passport number against the customer's account. Customers must not be able to edit it without prompting re-KYC.
• Pass it with every payment: send the number in the payer.identity object on every payment request.
• Ozow filters the payment methods: Ozow shows only the payment methods and banks linked to that identity number.

What the customer sees#

These payment methods use the identity number: Pay by BankPay by Bank The payer authorises the payment inside their own banking app or online banking, and the funds move from their bank account. No card is involved and no card details are entered. (all banks), Absa PayAbsa Pay Absa's own payment method, which the customer authorises in their Absa banking app. It gets its own button at checkout rather than sitting inside the bank list, and it requires Customer Identity Verification.Absa, Capitec PayCapitec Pay Capitec's own payment method. The payer gives a cellphone, account or ID number rather than card details, and approves the payment in the Capitec app, so no card number and no banking login is ever entered at checkout. It gets its own button rather than sitting inside the bank list, and it requires Customer Identity Verification.Capitec, Nedbank Direct EFTNedbank Direct EFT Nedbank's own payment method. Like the other bank APIs it gets its own button at checkout rather than sitting inside the bank list, and it requires Customer Identity Verification.Nedbank, FNB Payment Requests and PayShap RequestPayShap Request The request side of PayShap. Rather than the payer pushing money, the payee asks for it: the payer receives a request and approves it in their own banking app, and the funds move once they do. Enabled by Ozow on request rather than by default.payshap.co.za.

For example, a customer with accounts at FNB and Standard Bank sees Pay by Bank for those two banks. Capitec Pay and Absa Pay aren't shown.

Integration guide#

Add a payer object to your Hosted Checkout payment request.

Create the payment with POST https://one.ozow.com/v1/payments (staging: https://stagingone.ozow.com/v1/payments).

{
  "siteCode": "YOUR_SITE_CODE",
  "amount": { "currency": "ZAR", "value": 100.00 },
  "merchantReference": "ORDER-001",
  "expireAt": "2026-12-31T23:59:59Z",
  "returnUrl": "https://yourstore.com/order-complete",
  "payer": {
    "id": "CUSTOMER-123",
    "name": "PAYER_NAME",
    "identity": {
      "type": "said",
      "country": "ZA",
      "identifier": "0000000000000"
    }
  }
}

Next steps#

• Every payment request includes payer.identity with the correct type, country and identifier.
• The identity number comes from your stored, verified record, not from a field the customer fills in at checkout.
• A customer with a linked account sees the matching banks, and a payment without an ID hides the methods that need one.