Fat Zebra

What is Fat Zebra

Fat Zebra is an online payment gateway designed for businesses in the internet economy. Its main purpose is to provide a simple and secure way for companies of all sizes to accept payments online. The platform is built with developers in mind, offering a straightforward integration process through its API. This allows businesses to connect their websites, e-commerce stores, or applications to a global payments network. Founded in Australia, Fat Zebra focuses on providing scalable and reliable infrastructure to handle transactions, manage recurring billing, and protect against fraud. It serves a wide range of industries, from small startups to large enterprises like Aussie Broadband.

Fat Zebra Features

Fat Zebra offers a complete set of features to manage online payments effectively.

• Global Payments: Accept payments from customers worldwide in various currencies. The platform supports major credit and debit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
• Simple API Integration: A well-documented, developer-friendly API allows for quick integration into any website or application. This gives businesses full control over the checkout experience.
• E-commerce Platform Plugins: Fat Zebra provides ready-made plugins for popular e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce, Magento, and Shopify, making setup easy for non-developers.
• Recurring & Subscription Billing: Automate recurring payments for subscription-based services. You can manage plans, customers, and billing cycles directly through the platform.
• Tokenization: Securely store customer payment information using tokenization. This allows for one-click checkouts and repeat billing without handling sensitive card data directly, ensuring PCI compliance.
• Fraud Protection: The platform includes built-in fraud detection tools to help identify and block suspicious transactions, reducing the risk of chargebacks.
• Hosted Payment Pages: Use secure, pre-built payment pages hosted by Fat Zebra to simplify PCI compliance. These pages can be customized to match your brand's look and feel.
• Real-time Reporting: Access a comprehensive dashboard with real-time data on transactions, settlements, and disputes. This helps with financial reconciliation and business analysis.

Fat Zebra Pricing Plans

Fat Zebra's pricing is structured to be transparent and scalable. They typically offer a standard pricing model for small to medium-sized businesses, which involves a per-transaction fee. This plan usually has no setup fees, monthly charges, or hidden costs, making it accessible for new businesses. For larger enterprises with high transaction volumes, Fat Zebra provides custom pricing plans. These plans are tailored to the specific needs of the business and may include volume discounts, dedicated support, and advanced features.

Fat Zebra Free Plan

Fat Zebra does not offer a completely free plan, as transaction fees are a core part of its business model. However, for its standard plan, there are typically no setup fees or monthly account maintenance fees. This means you only pay when you process a transaction. They provide a sandbox environment for developers to test their integration for free before going live with real payments. This allows you to build and test the system without any financial commitment.

How to use Fat Zebra

Getting started with Fat Zebra is a straightforward process.

1. Create an Account: Sign up for a Fat Zebra merchant account on their website. You will need to provide details about your business for verification.
2. Access Your Dashboard: Once your account is approved, you will get access to the merchant dashboard.
3. Get API Keys: In the dashboard, navigate to the developer section to find your API keys (public and secret keys) for both the test (sandbox) and live environments.
4. Integrate with Your Site:
   • For E-commerce Platforms: Install the appropriate Fat Zebra plugin for your platform (e.g., WooCommerce) and enter your API keys in the settings.
   • For Custom Builds: Use the API documentation to integrate the payment processing logic into your application's backend and checkout flow.
5. Test Your Integration: Use the sandbox API keys and test card numbers provided by Fat Zebra to run test transactions and ensure everything works correctly.
6. Go Live: Once testing is complete, switch to your live API keys in your application's settings to start accepting real payments from customers.

Pros and Cons of Fat Zebra

Pros:

• Developer-Friendly: The API is modern, well-documented, and easy to work with.
• Simple Pricing: The standard pay-as-you-go pricing model is clear and has no hidden monthly fees.
• Strong Security: Focus on security with features like tokenization and robust fraud prevention.
• Good Local Support: As an Australian-based company, it offers strong support for businesses in the Australia and New Zealand region.
• Scalable Infrastructure: Built to handle high volumes of transactions, making it suitable for growing businesses.

Cons:

• Limited Global Recognition: Not as widely known as global competitors like Stripe or PayPal, which might be a factor for some international businesses.
• Fewer Pre-built Integrations: While it covers major platforms, it may have fewer third-party integrations compared to larger rivals.
• Advanced Features: Some advanced features might require more custom development work compared to all-in-one solutions.

Fat Zebra integrations

Fat Zebra integrates with many popular e-commerce platforms and business systems, making it easy to add to your existing setup. They provide official plugins and extensions for a seamless connection.

• WooCommerce: An official plugin allows you to accept payments directly on your WordPress e-commerce store.
• Magento (Adobe Commerce): A dedicated extension connects Fat Zebra to your Magento store for secure payment processing.
• Shopify: Can be configured as a payment provider within the Shopify ecosystem.
• BigCommerce: Integrates with BigCommerce stores to offer a smooth checkout experience.
• Chargebee: Connects with the subscription management platform to handle recurring billing.
• Custom Integrations: The powerful REST API allows developers to build custom integrations with any other software or platform.

Fat Zebra Alternatives

• Stripe: A leading global payment gateway known for its extensive developer tools, wide range of features, and vast library of integrations. It is a strong competitor for businesses of all sizes.
• Braintree: A PayPal service that offers a similar feature set, including credit card processing, digital wallets, and fraud tools. It is known for its reliable service and connection to the PayPal network.
• Adyen: An enterprise-focused payment platform that provides a single solution for online, in-app, and in-store payments. It is best for large, global businesses that need an all-in-one omnichannel solution.
• Square: A great alternative for businesses that need both online and in-person (Point of Sale) payment processing. It offers a unified ecosystem for managing all sales channels.

Fat Zebra API

Yes, Fat Zebra provides a comprehensive and modern RESTful API for developers. The API is a core part of their platform, allowing for deep integration with custom websites, mobile apps, and business software. You can access the full developer documentation on their website.

To get your API key, you must first sign up for a Fat Zebra account. Once your account is active, you can find your unique API keys (a public key and a secret key) for both the sandbox (testing) and production (live) environments within your merchant dashboard. The sandbox environment is free to use for testing purposes.

Here is a basic example of creating a payment using cURL:

curl https://gateway.fatzebra.com.au/v1.0/purchases \
  -u YOUR_USERNAME:YOUR_API_TOKEN \
  -d "amount=1000" \
  -d "card_number=4111111111111111" \
  -d "card_expiry=12/2025" \
  -d "cvv=123" \
  -d "reference=ORDER12345"

Fat Zebra Affiliate program

Fat Zebra does not have a public-facing, traditional affiliate program where individuals can sign up for a referral link. Instead, they focus on a Partner Program aimed at developers, digital agencies, and platform providers who integrate Fat Zebra for their clients. Partners typically benefit from revenue sharing, co-marketing opportunities, and dedicated technical support. To join the partner program, you should contact their sales or partnerships team directly through their official website to discuss the requirements and benefits.