dj-paynow - Django + PayNow Made Easy

Complete PayNow payment gateway integration for Django applications. Accept payments from Zimbabwean customers using EcoCash, OneMoney, Visa/Mastercard, and more.

Introduction

dj-paynow is a comprehensive Django library for integrating PayNow, Zimbabwe's leading payment gateway. It provides a simple, secure, and Pythonic way to accept online payments.

Features

• Easy Integration - Get started in under 10 minutes
• Multiple Payment Methods - EcoCash, OneMoney, TeleCash, Visa/Mastercard
• Secure - Hash verification and validation
• Complete - Models, forms, views, and webhooks included
• Database Tracking - Complete payment history
• Django Admin - Full admin integration
• REST API - Optional DRF support
• Status Polling - Real-time payment status updates

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• Django 3.2+
• Django REST Framework 3.12+
• requests 2.25.0+
• PayNow Account (sign up at paynow.co.zw)

Installation

1. Install via pip

pip install dj-paynow

2. Add to INSTALLED_APPS

# settings.py
INSTALLED_APPS = [
    'django.contrib.admin',
    'django.contrib.auth',
    'django.contrib.contenttypes',
    'django.contrib.sessions',
    'django.contrib.messages',
    'django.contrib.staticfiles',
    
    # Third-party apps
    'rest_framework',  # Optional, for API support
    'paynow',         # Add this
    
    # Your apps
    'myapp',
]

3. Configure Settings

Add your PayNow credentials to settings.py:

# PayNow Configuration
PAYNOW_INTEGRATION_ID = 'your_integration_id'
PAYNOW_INTEGRATION_KEY = 'your_integration_key'
PAYNOW_TEST_MODE = True  # False for production

Environment Variables (Recommended):

pip install dotzen

from dotzen import config

PAYNOW_INTEGRATION_ID = config('PAYNOW_INTEGRATION_ID')
PAYNOW_INTEGRATION_KEY = config('PAYNOW_INTEGRATION_KEY')
PAYNOW_TEST_MODE = config('PAYNOW_TEST_MODE', 'True') == 'True'

4. Configure URLs

# urls.py
from django.urls import path, include

urlpatterns = [
    path('admin/', admin.site.urls),
    path('paynow/', include('paynow.urls')),
]

5. Run Migrations

python manage.py migrate

Quick Start

Create a Payment

from django.shortcuts import redirect, reverse
from urllib.parse import urlencode

def buy_product(request):
    """Create payment and redirect to PayNow"""
    
    params = urlencode({
        'amount': '50.00',
        'description': 'Premium Subscription',
        'email': request.user.email,
        'phone': '+263771234567',
    })
    
    url = f"{reverse('paynow:checkout')}?{params}"
    return redirect(url)

Using the API

import requests

# Create payment
response = requests.post('http://localhost:8000/paynow/payments/', json={
    'amount': '100.00',
    'description': 'Product Purchase',
    'email': '[email protected]',
    'phone': '+263771234567',
})

payment = response.json()
# Redirect user to payment['paynow_url']

Payment Flow

1. Create Payment - Create a payment record with amount and description
2. Initialize with PayNow - Send request to PayNow to get payment URL
3. Redirect User - Redirect customer to PayNow payment page
4. Customer Pays - Customer completes payment via EcoCash/OneMoney/Card
5. Receive Webhook - PayNow sends status update to your webhook
6. Poll Status - Optionally poll for payment status
7. Update Status - Payment status updated in database

Payment Methods

PayNow supports multiple payment methods:

• EcoCash - Mobile money (most popular in Zimbabwe)
• OneMoney - NetOne mobile money
• TeleCash - Telecel mobile money
• Visa/Mastercard - Credit and debit cards

Customers choose their preferred method on the PayNow payment page.

Webhook Handling

PayNow sends notifications to your result URL when payment status changes:

# Webhook endpoint: /paynow/result/
# This is handled automatically by dj-paynow

# You can add custom logic using Django signals:
from django.db.models.signals import post_save
from django.dispatch import receiver
from paynow.models import PayNowPayment

@receiver(post_save, sender=PayNowPayment)
def handle_payment_complete(sender, instance, **kwargs):
    if instance.status == 'paid':
        # Grant access to service
        grant_premium_access(instance.user)
        
        # Send confirmation email
        send_confirmation_email(instance)

Status Polling

Check payment status programmatically:

from paynow.paynow_client import PayNowClient

client = PayNowClient()
payment = PayNowPayment.objects.get(reference='PN123456789')

if payment.poll_url:
    status = client.check_transaction_status(payment.poll_url)
    
    if status['success']:
        print(f"Status: {status['status']}")
        print(f"Reference: {status['paynow_reference']}")

Models

PayNowPayment

Stores payment transaction data:

payment = PayNowPayment.objects.create(
    user=request.user,
    amount=99.99,
    description='Premium Plan',
    email='[email protected]',
    phone='+263771234567',
)

Fields:

• reference - Unique payment reference
• amount - Payment amount (decimal)
• description - Payment description
• email - Customer email
• phone - Customer phone number
• status - Payment status (pending, sent, paid, failed, etc.)
• poll_url - URL for status polling
• browser_url - PayNow payment page URL
• paynow_reference - PayNow internal reference

PayNowStatusUpdate

Logs all status updates and webhook calls:

updates = payment.status_updates.all()
for update in updates:
    print(f"{update.status} at {update.created_at}")

Django Admin

Full admin interface included:

• View all payments
• Filter by status, date
• Search by reference, email
• View status update history
• Manual status updates

Access at: /admin/paynow/

REST API

Optional REST API endpoints:

GET    /paynow/payments/              - List payments
POST   /paynow/payments/              - Create payment
GET    /paynow/payments/{reference}/  - Get payment details

Security

dj-paynow implements security best practices:

1. Hash Verification - All responses verified with SHA512 hash
2. Status Logging - All webhook calls logged for audit
3. Environment Variables - Credentials stored securely
4. HTTPS Required - Production requires HTTPS

Testing

PayNow provides a sandbox environment for testing:

1. Sign up at paynow.co.zw
2. Get sandbox credentials
3. Set PAYNOW_TEST_MODE = True
4. Test with EcoCash sandbox numbers

Examples

Subscription Payment

def subscribe_to_plan(request, plan_id):
    plan = get_object_or_404(Plan, id=plan_id)
    
    params = urlencode({
        'amount': plan.price,
        'description': f'{plan.name} Subscription',
        'email': request.user.email,
    })
    
    return redirect(f"{reverse('paynow:checkout')}?{params}")

Donation Widget

def process_donation(request):
    if request.method == 'POST':
        amount = request.POST.get('amount')
        email = request.POST.get('email')
        
        params = urlencode({
            'amount': amount,
            'description': 'Donation',
            'email': email,
        })
        
        return redirect(f"{reverse('paynow:checkout')}?{params}")
    
    return render(request, 'donate.html')

Getting PayNow Credentials

1. Visit paynow.co.zw
2. Sign up for an account
3. Navigate to Settings → Integrations
4. Copy your Integration ID and Integration Key
5. Add them to your environment variables

Troubleshooting

Payment not updating?

• Check webhook URL is publicly accessible
• Verify hash in status updates
• Check PayNow status update logs in admin

Hash verification failing?

• Ensure integration key is correct
• Check for extra spaces in credentials

Webhook not receiving calls?

• Use ngrok for local development
• Verify result URL is correct
• Check server logs for errors

Support

• GitHub: github.com/carrington-dev/dj-paynow
• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Email: [email protected]
• PayNow Docs: paynow.co.zw/developers

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file

Acknowledgments

Inspired by:

• dj-paynow
• dj-stripe

Changelog

0.1.0 (2025-12-15)

• Initial release
• PayNow integration
• Payment models
• Webhook handling
• Status polling
• REST API
• Django admin

Made with ❤️ for the Zimbabwean developer community