Experiencing problems with the Yoco Online Payment Gateway? We’re here to help you get back to business!

Problem #1: Yoco Payments option is not displaying on your website

Solution: There are several reasons the Yoco Payments option might not display on your website in the checkout flow.

Checkout API Integration

1. API keys

Follow these steps to ensure that your test and live keys are correctly configured. Or keep reading to make sure that you’re using the right keys.

Please note: The above doesn’t apply to Shopify plugin users. Why? Because Shopify handles all API integration, so API keys are automatically part of your installation.

a. Test keys

Use test keys to safely test the integration of Yoco Payment Gateway on your website. These keys can be used together with test card details (also provided in the Yoco App).

b. Live keys

Use live keys as soon as you’ve finished testing and are ready to switch to Live mode and start accepting real transactions from customers.

c. Public and secret keys

In Test and Live mode, we provide two keys that must both be entered for the integration to succeed:

Public key: like your ID number, it is unique to you and is only visible to others under certain circumstances.
Secret key: like a password, it must never be revealed to anyone and should be securely stored on your server.

WooCommerce

If you experience the error Yoco Payments: Error: plugin suspended due to missing Installation ID, head to Yoco Payments settings and ‘Save changes’, then follow these steps to confirm that your secret keys are correct.

Start by checking that your website is loading without a prompt to enter a username and password – the plugin won’t install if your website requires user authentication before it loads (for example, if it’s under development). To resolve this issue, try to remove the need for user authentication, then reinstall the plugin.
If your website loads without a prompt to enter a username and password, head to WooCommerce > Installed Plugins > Yoco Payments > Settings.
Erase the secret keys values from the settings.
Sign in to the Yoco App ****and go to Sales > Payment Gateways.
Copy the secret keys values from the Yoco Web App and paste them into the WooCommerce Admin in the plugin settings.
Click on the ‘Enable logging’ checkbox.
Click ‘Save changes’.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ll be able to install the plugin again. If this doesn’t resolve the issue, follow the steps below to check and validate your SSL certificate checks.

2. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certification

SSL certification encrypts data between a web server and a browser, ensuring that communication is secure and that sensitive information is protected. The SSL (or TSL which is the successor to SSL) must be enabled for the payment module to load.

Need help? WooCommerce | Wix | Shopstar | Shopify | Custom

How to check and validate your SSL Certificate

Go to https://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-checker.html and enter your website URL in the search box.
When the search results appear, make sure that the certificate is valid and that the Certificate Chain isn’t broken. If you have any questions or need help checking or validating your SSL Certificate, please contact the service provider that supplied your certificate.

Here’s what a valid SSL Certificate looks like:

3. Currency Settings

Transactions can only be activated with Yoco if your shop currency is set to ZAR and your customers are being charged in South African Rands on your website.

Change your currency settings:
WooCommerce | Wix | Shopstar | Shopify | Custom

Add a currency conversion estimating tool to your site:
WooCommerce | Wix | Shopstar | Shopify | Custom

4. Subscriptions

Subscriptions are unfortunately not currently available on Yoco’s online payments gateway.

Problem #2: Error messages in Test mode

Please note: Test mode isn’t necessary for Shopify as API keys are automatically part of your integration.

Test transaction error messages: 3D Secure authentication has failed. Please try again. or There was a problem preparing your payment request. Please try again.

Solution: Make sure you’re using a test card and not a real card. The test card is displayed below your Live and Test keys, and looks like this:

If you’re certain that the test card is the problem, make sure that:

The plugin is in Test mode
You’re using the correct Private and Secret test keys in the correct fields and that there are no spaces.

For more information, read our Developers' Guide.

Problem #3: Online payment errors

Yoco gateway errors

1. Customer error message: There was a problem preparing your payment request. Please try again.

Solution: Confirm that the plugin is in Live mode, that you’re using the correct Private and Secret Live keys in the correct fields, and that there are no spaces. For more information, view our Developers' Guide.

2. The transaction was successful and the customer’s card was charged for an online payment, but the customer still received an error message and the order is reflecting as ‘incomplete’ on your Portal.

There are times when your website doesn’t have enough processing power to process a transaction successfully.

Solution:

Log in to the Yoco Web App and navigate to the Sales Tab, where you'll find your Sales History. Here, you'll see every transaction processed through your Yoco profile, by date.
Check if the transaction succeeded (click here for more information).
If it was successful, manually mark the order as paid on your website.
If it wasn't successful, but your customer insists that it went through, please ask them to email proof of payment to you, then send it to us via our in-app chat and we’ll investigate.

All online payments

1. Customer error message: Something went wrong, please contact support.

Solution: Check that the transaction total exceeds the minimum payment amount (R2,00).

2. Customer error message: 3D Secure authentication has failed. Please try again.

Solution: Make sure that the transaction hasn’t been declined. Payments are most often declined because:

a. The customer entered their card details incorrectly.

b. The customer’s internet connection was interrupted while the payment was being processed (read more here).

c. The customer’s card isn’t accepted by Yoco. Yoco Gateway accepts the following cards (get the full list here):

All VISA/MasterCard and debit and credit cards.
International and AMEX cards, swipe cards, chip and PIN and SASSA cards issued by any bank.

Yoco Gateway doesn’t currently accept Fleet, RCS, Diners Club or petrol cards.

Please note: While we support Capitec cards, they have more 3D Secure failures than other issuing banks.

d. The bank declined the payment. This is most likely to have happened because:

The customer has insufficient funds.
The customer failed to complete 3D Secure authentication.
The bank does not carry out 3D Secure authentication.
The bank does not allow the customer to do online payments.
Banking system challenges or downtime.
The transaction total is less that the minimum payment amount (R2,00).

e. The Yoco system is down.This is very unlikely to happen and you will have been notified via email and in-App or on-device pop-up messages.

Read more about failed transactions here.

3. Customer error message: The payment pop-up isn't displaying when I finish entering the amount.

Solution: Enter the amount in cents, not decimal value – this typically means adding ‘00’ after the amount. For example, enter 200 to charge R2 or 5000 to charge R50.

What do payment status messages mean?

Pending: The transaction is still being processed and it’s too soon to tell if it will be approved. If the customer says they’ve paid, but it’s ‘pending’ on your side, please ask them to email proof of payment to you, then send it to us via our in-app chat and we’ll investigate.
Aborted: The transaction failed because it was cancelled during the payment process.
Approved: The transaction was successful and should now be reflected in your Sales History.

Still struggling with Yoco Gateway?

Get the support you need!

Before you contact our support team:

Create a new user profile with admin privileges (click the relevant link for instructions: WooCommerce | Wix| Shopstar | Shopify). This will allow our support team to enable/disable plugins and modify any settings that may be interfering with the Yoco App and your ability to accept payments. Save the login details to share with us. The profile can be deleted once the issue has been resolved.
Make a list of all the plugins enabled on your site so that we can identify any that may be clashing with one another.
Enable error debugging by connecting to your site via SFTP, downloading the config.php file to edit, and updating it. Remember: Always make a backup of this file before continuing. For more information: WooCommerce | Wix | Shopstar | Shopify | Custom
Export or save error logs from the date you first noticed the issue (you’ll find them in the ‘logs’ folder of your website) and attach them to your support request.