Ozow Hub

Payment requests

Create and send Ozow payment requests from the Dashboard, no code required.

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Payment requests let you collect payments from customers without writing a single line of code. You create and send them directly from the Ozow Portal or Request Portal. Each one carries a link the customer opens to pay. Customers click the link, select their preferred payment method, and complete the payment; no integration required on your side.

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. is enabled by default

on all payment requests. Any additional payment methods enabled by Ozow on your account will automatically appear on the payment page, no further action required on your side.

Before you start

  • You need an active Ozow merchant account. If you don't have one, sign up at ozow.com/merchants
  • Log in to your Ozow Portal at dash.ozow.com
  • You need access to the Payment Requests section of the Dashboard. If you don't see it, contact support@ozow.com or your account manager

How to create a single payment request

Step 1: Navigate to Payment Requests

In the left-hand navigation menu of the Ozow Portal, scroll down to Payment Requests and click Create.

Navigate to payment requests

Step 2: Select single payment request

On the Payment Request card, click Create.

To send several requests at once from a spreadsheet, use Bulk Payment Request instead.

Create single payment request

Step 3: Fill in the payment details

Complete the following fields and click Create Request:

Field What it means
Site select the Ozow site you want to associate this payment with. If you have multiple sites, make sure you select the correct one. The list of your sites can be found under the Sites tab in the Dashboard.
Customer name enter the name of the customer you are sending the payment link to.
Amount Fixed amount: enter a specific amount. The customer will not be able to change it. Variable amount: the customer will be able to enter their own amount within a range defined by you.
Payment reference enter a reference for your own reconciliation purposes, such as an invoice number.
Delivery method select how you want to send the payment link to the customer: SMS, Email or WhatsApp. Note: WhatsApp is not enable by default. QR codes are only available via the Request Portal.

Variable amount

is not enabled by default. Contact support@ozow.com to request variable amounts on your account.

QR codes

QR codes are only available via the Request Portal, not via the main Ozow Dashboard. See Request Portal below for details.

Payment request creation form

Step 4: Retrieve request details

A green banner confirms that the request was sent and how it was delivered. Below it, you'll see:

  • the request details
  • its status, which starts as Pending
  • the Payment Url, the link your customer uses to pay

Payment request confirmation screen

Step 5: Track the payment

Once the request has been sent, you can track its status:

  • Navigate to Payment Requests → View Requests to see all payment requests you have created, their status, and a direct copy of the payment URL
  • Navigate to Transactions → View Transactions to see completed, pending, or cancelled payments

Note

A transaction is only created once the customer clicks on a payment method on the payment page. Simply opening the payment link does not create a transaction.

How to create bulk payment requests

If you need to send payment requests to multiple customers at once, you can upload them in bulk using an Excel template.

Step 1: Download the template

Navigate to Payment Requests → Create → Bulk Payment Request. Download the Excel template.

Bulk payment request screen

Step 2: Complete the template

Open the downloaded template and complete the required fields:

Column Field Notes
A Site codeSite code The unique code for a site registered under a merchant. A site is a place to transact: a website, or a branch of a store. A merchant can have several, and each transaction names the one it belongs to, so sending the wrong code files the payment against the wrong place. Found under the Sites tab in the Dashboard. Format: XXX-XXX-XXX
B Country code Always ZA
C Currency codeISO 4217 The three-letter currency codes, such as ZAR for the South African rand. Always uppercase.Wikipedia Always ZAR
D Amount Enter as a number with up to two decimal places
E Transaction reference Your reference for reconciliation. It appears on the customer's bank statement
F Bank reference The reference that appears on your bank statement for the payment
G Is test Always set to false, setting to true means the payment will not appear on the Dashboard
H Allow variable amount Set to true to allow variable amounts, requires Ozow approval
I Variable amount min Minimum amount if variable amounts are enabled
J Variable amount max Maximum amount if variable amounts are enabled
K Recipient address Email address or cell phone number of the customer
L Correspondence type Email, SMS, or WhatsApp; QR code is only available via the Request Portal
M Customer identifier Only required for high-risk merchants: see Customer Identity Verification
N Customer Name or identifier of the person receiving the payment link
O Expiry date UTC Optional: set an expiry date for the payment request
P-T Optional 1-5 Optional custom fields for your own use
U Cancel URL Optional, URL to redirectRedirect Sending the payer to the Ozow payment page to complete the payment, and returning them to your site afterwards. The alternative is embedding the checkout in your own page, where the payer never leaves it. the customer to if they cancel
V Error URL Optional, URL to redirect the customer to if an error occurs
W Success URL Optional, URL to redirect the customer to on successful payment
X Notify URL Optional, URL to receive payment notifications

Bank ID, account number, branch codeBranch code The six-digit number identifying a South African bank branch, the equivalent of a sort code or a routing number elsewhere. Each bank publishes one universal branch code that works for every account it holds, which is the one to use unless you have been given another., and account name columns

these fields are no longer supported. Leave them blank.

Is test field

this field is being deprecated. Always set it to false to ensure payments appear on your Dashboard.

Step 3: Upload the template

Save the completed template and return to Payment Requests → Create → Bulk Payment Request → Upload your file.

  • If there are errors, an error message will be returned and you will be able to see exactly which lines have errors
  • Fix the errors and re-submit the corrected entries
  • If there are no errors, the requests will be sent immediately

Step 4: View bulk request results

Navigate to Payment Requests → View File Bulk Payment Requests to see the status of your bulk uploads.

Status Meaning
Complete All payment requests were sent successfully
Completed with errors Some lines had errors, download the result file to see which lines failed
Error A technical error occurred, redo the upload entirely

If your upload returns Completed with errors, download the result file. You will see three additional columns:

  • Payment link: populated if the payment link was sent successfully
  • Errors: populated with the error reason if the line failed
  • Sent UTC: the date and time the payment link was sent, if successful

Fix the lines with errors and resubmit them either as a new bulk upload or as individual single payment requests.

Message templates

You can customise the message that is sent to customers when a payment request is delivered via email, SMS, or WhatsApp.

Creating a message template

Navigate to Payment Requests → Message Templates → Add Message Template.

Email and SMS templates

Select Email and SMS as the template type. Choose your site, then customise:

  • Your SMS message text
  • Your email subject line
  • Your email message body

Follow the instructions provided in the template fields. Email and SMS templates are generally approved immediately.

WhatsApp templates

Select WhatsApp as the template type. The recommended template type is Message with text header. You can also select Message with image header and upload a JPG of your logo.

WhatsApp approval

WhatsApp templates go through a review period of 24 to 48 hours before they are approved. Once approved, the template becomes the default used for all WhatsApp payment links.

Important notes on templates:

  • If you do not create a template, Ozow's default template will be used
  • Only one template per delivery method is supported, the approved template becomes the default

The Request Portal

The Request Portal is a simplified dashboard designed for payment collection teams who do not need access to the full Ozow merchant portal. It allows team members to create and send payment requests without seeing any merchant account information.

Key differences from the main Dashboard:

Feature Ozow Portal Request Portal
Create payment requests ✅ ✅
View payment request status ✅ ✅
QR code delivery ❌ ✅
View merchant account details ✅ ❌
View transactions ✅ ❌

Getting access to the Request Portal

Contact support@ozow.com to request access for your team members. Ozow will add the relevant users and provide login credentials.

Creating a QR code via the Request Portal

  1. Log in to the Request Portal
  2. Create a payment request as normal
  3. Leave the delivery method and recipient fields empty
  4. Create the request, the QR code will be displayed immediately on the confirmation screen
  5. Download and save the QR code

Note

Any payment requests created via the Request Portal are also visible and trackable on the main Ozow Dashboard under Transactions.

Request Portal

Tracking payment request status

Payment request statuses can be tracked in two places:

Payment Requests → View Requests: shows all individual payment requests created, including:

  • Payment reference
  • Customer name
  • Amount
  • Status (pending, complete, cancelled)
  • Payment URL for easy copying
  • Option to resend the link

Transactions → View Transactions: shows all transactions initiated from payment requests once a customer has clicked on a payment method.

Remember

A transaction is only created once the customer selects a payment method. Opening the link alone does not create a transaction.

Support

For assistance with payment requests contact support@ozow.com or reach out to your account manager.

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