Pagway
Pagway: Merchant Payment Acceptance Overview
Pagway is a Brazilian payments provider positioned as a subacquirer and payment infrastructure fintech for merchants that want to accept payments in-store and online while keeping operational control over receivables, automation, and risk. The Pagway product set spans card-present acceptance (SmartPOS terminals), online acceptance (payment links and a payment gateway), and recurring billing for subscription-style revenue. Across these channels, Pagway emphasizes rapid onboarding, 24/7 support, and automation features such as webhooks and a merchant dashboard.
Pagway Overview
Pagway focuses on helping merchants centralize payment acceptance across multiple use cases:
- In-store card acceptance via SmartPOS devices.
- Remote payments via payment links that can be shared in WhatsApp, email, or social channels.
- Online and embedded payments via a gateway designed for custom checkouts and ERP integrations.
- Recurring billing for subscription programs and periodic collections.
Pagway also presents itself as a subacquirer, which typically means the provider intermediates between merchants and acquiring partners, bundles onboarding and processing under one contract, and can offer a consolidated operational layer for settlement logic, reporting, and risk controls.
Who Pagway Fits Best
Pagway’s stated use cases align most closely with:
- SMBs and growing operators that need faster activation and straightforward operations.
- Online sellers that monetize via social channels, WhatsApp-led commerce, or invoice-style collection.
- Marketplaces, franchises, and multi-recipient models where revenue needs to be split across multiple receivers.
- Subscription businesses such as SaaS, education programs, gyms, and membership services that require recurring billing logic and delinquency management.
Payment Acceptance Channels
In-Store Card Acceptance
Pagway offers physical terminals described as SmartPOS, with connectivity options that include 4G and Wi-Fi, and positions them as “no rental” devices. This channel is designed for card-present sales where the terminal is the primary acceptance interface.
Typical merchant workflows include:
- Accepting debit and credit at the point of sale.
- Tracking receivables through a dashboard.
- Using receivables anticipation features to improve cash flow, where available under the merchant’s plan.
Online Acceptance
Pagway supports online payments through two core approaches:
Payment Links
- Links can be created in a platform interface and shared to customers.
- The checkout is described as white-label and customizable (for example, logo and color customization).
- The payment experience is designed for quick, low-friction collection without requiring a full ecommerce storefront.
Payment Gateway
- A gateway intended for custom checkouts and integrations with ERPs and other internal systems.
- Supports RESTful API integration and webhooks for event-driven automation.
Recurring Billing
Pagway provides a recurring payments product for subscription programs, combining:
- A management interface to set up plans, cycles, values, and customer records.
- Operational features like payment history, delinquency tracking, retry logic, and automated notifications.
- API and webhook support to embed recurring logic into SaaS platforms or internal billing systems.
Payment Types And Methods Supported
Across Pagway’s card and online products, the payment methods explicitly supported include:
- Cards: credit and debit, including installment support for credit in gateway contexts.
- Pix: instant bank transfer payments in Brazil.
- Boleto: bank slip payments.
For card scheme coverage, Pagway describes contracts with major card brands including Visa, Mastercard, Elo, and American Express. It also describes support for national and international card transactions in its risk and approval positioning.
Checkout And Billing Flows
Pagway’s checkout and billing flows cover common merchant collection patterns:
- Payment Links for remote collection and social commerce.
- Checkout for gateway transactions to support ecommerce and SaaS-style use cases.
- Recurring billing for subscription revenue.
Pagway also positions its split payments capability as a core feature for marketplace and multi-recipient operations, enabling revenue distribution logic across receivers.
Platform Capabilities That Matter Operationally
Split Payments For Multi-Recipient Models
Pagway’s gateway is positioned to support native split payments, including:
- Automatic distribution across multiple receivers.
- Fixed or variable percentage definitions.
- Options to schedule transfers or execute immediate transfers depending on the program rules.
- Control over commissions for partners, franchisees, or other receivers.
This is particularly relevant for platforms that need to manage payouts to sellers, service providers, or franchise units.
Webhooks For Event-Driven Automation
Pagway emphasizes webhooks as a core integration primitive. Webhooks are used to send real-time signals to merchant systems so they can automate:
- Digital fulfillment (for example, releasing access after payment approval).
- Messaging workflows (email, WhatsApp notifications).
- Updates to ERP, CRM, logistics, and finance systems.
In recurring billing contexts, webhook events may include authorization outcomes, retry attempts, and plan or customer status changes.
Tokenization And 3DS Authentication
Pagway highlights security controls in online checkout flows, including:
- Tokenization, which reduces exposure of raw card data inside merchant environments.
- 3DS support (including references to 3DS 2.0) to authenticate card payments via issuing banks.
Pagway positions 3DS-authenticated checkout flows as a mechanism to reduce fraud disputes and chargebacks tied to unauthorized use, which is a key consideration for merchants operating in higher-risk digital channels.
Pricing And Commercial Model
Pagway publishes example transaction pricing on its site for certain products and also presents tiered ranges based on monthly volume bands.
Key published examples include:
- Card-present pricing examples such as debit and credit percentage rates, with an installment-related add-on shown for credit installments.
- Payment link pricing examples including Pix percentage pricing, card percentage pricing, and a fixed per-transaction boleto charge displayed in Brazilian reais (R$).
Pagway also states that certain plans have no extra fees beyond the transaction for the card machine offering, and that SmartPOS devices are offered without rental. Setup fees and monthly account fees are not presented as standardized line items in the publicly visible pricing excerpts. For accurate commercial evaluation, merchants typically validate final pricing based on business model, volume, and risk profile.
Settlement, Receivables, And Cash Flow
Pagway describes capabilities that affect merchant cash flow:
- Receivables management through a merchant dashboard.
- Anticipation features presented as operational tools for improving cash flow.
- Customizable financial flows in the context of subacquiring, including scheduled and automated repasses.
A uniform, product-wide settlement time (for example, T+1 or T+2) is not presented as a single fixed rule in the publicly visible descriptions. Merchants should treat payout timing as program-specific and confirm the applicable schedule for each acceptance channel.
Developer Experience And Integrations
Pagway positions its integration model around:
- RESTful APIs for payment link generation, gateway processing, and recurring billing workflows.
- Webhooks for real-time event delivery.
- Compatibility with custom checkouts, ERPs, CRMs, and SaaS platforms.
Pagway presents API documentation access through direct contact flows rather than a fully public documentation portal URL, which is common in providers that gate technical materials behind onboarding or commercial qualification.
Customer Support And Operations
Pagway states 24/7 support and provides multiple contact channels including email, WhatsApp, and telephone support. This is operationally relevant for merchants that run outside standard business hours or rely on real-time support to resolve authorization issues, payout questions, and integration troubleshooting.
Conclusion
Pagway is structured for merchants that want a unified Brazilian payment acceptance stack across in-store and online channels, with a focus on automation (webhooks), multi-recipient payout logic (split), and subscription billing (recurring). Its published positioning centers on rapid onboarding, a merchant dashboard for receivables, and security controls such as tokenization, PCI-DSS protocol references, and 3DS-authenticated checkout flows. For merchants with marketplace, franchise, or recurring revenue models, the combination of REST API integration and native split capabilities is a defining part of the value proposition, while final commercial terms and payout schedules remain items to confirm during onboarding.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What payment methods does Pagway support?
Pagway supports credit and debit cards, Pix, and boleto. Supported brands include Visa, Mastercard, Elo, and American Express.
What payment acceptance channels does Pagway support?
Pagway supports in-store payments via SmartPOS terminals and online payments via payment links and a gateway, including checkout in websites and apps.
How do Pagway transaction fees work?
Pagway presents tiered pricing by monthly volume band. Debit rates range from 1.49% down to 0.85%, and 12x installment pricing ranges from 14.49% down to 11.49%. Pix pricing is provided upon request.
Does Pagway support split payments for marketplaces?
Yes. Pagway supports split payments to distribute funds across multiple receivers, with configurable percentages and payout timing rules.
Does Pagway support recurring billing and subscriptions?
Yes. Pagway supports recurring billing for subscriptions, with a management platform plus API and webhooks for automation and billing events.
What compliance and security standards does Pagway support?
PCI DSS, 3D Secure (including 3DS 2.0), tokenization, and AML/KYC-related controls for risk and compliance.
What developer integration options does Pagway offer?
Pagway offers web services API integration, hosted payment pages, and webhook support for payment events and automation.