Payment methods in South Africa

SnapScan (owned by Standard Bank) is a South African QR code payment app allowing consumers to scan a merchant's QR code and pay from a linked card or bank account. It has strong penetration among South African small businesses, restaurants, and markets, and supports online payments through merchant integrations.

Buy Now, Pay Later services including Payflex and PayJustNow have gained significant traction in South Africa, particularly in fashion, electronics, and homewares. They allow consumers to split purchases into interest-free monthly instalments, with BNPL transactions expected to double by 2026 according to the Payments Association of South Africa.

PayShap is South Africa's new real-time interbank payment system launched in 2023 by BankservAfrica, enabling instant low-value payments between bank accounts using a ShapID (phone number or national ID). It is positioned as South Africa's equivalent of UK Faster Payments or India's UPI, with growing merchant adoption as an alternative to card and EFT.

Instant EFT is one of South Africa's most popular online payment methods, enabling customers to make real-time bank-to-bank payments directly from their internet banking without sharing card details. Providers such as Ozow and PayFast facilitate Instant EFT integration for merchants, providing near-instant payment confirmation. It is used across all segments of e-commerce and is particularly strong for higher-value transactions.

Zapper is SnapScan's main competitor in the South African QR payment space. It enables in-store and online payments using a QR scan from the Zapper app. Zapper also offers a digital loyalty and rewards component, which drives repeat usage among its merchant and consumer base.

Scan to Pay (formerly Masterpass) is the largest QR payment ecosystem in South Africa, processing approximately 12 million transactions per month. It is supported by multiple South African banks and enables payments via a common QR standard across different bank apps.