South Africans are altering how they pay for points earlier than ever. A model new “State of Shopper Price in South Africa” report by Sew in partnership with a world evaluation company, Censuswide, reveals that patrons are shortly shifting away from using cash and taking part in playing cards, and are deciding on digital funds as a substitute.
The 2025 report, based mostly totally on a survey of two,000 South Africans, found that whereas cash and taking part in playing cards keep part of daily life, digital wallets and direct-from-bank funds are shortly turning into the favored strategies to pay, significantly on-line.
Pay by Monetary establishment decisions, akin to Capitec Pay, have seen the quickest progress. These methods provide instantaneous, protected transfers and are increasingly more favoured over standard taking part in playing cards and cash. Retailers are responding, integrating these choices to fulfill shopper demand for velocity and reliability.
Digital wallets, along with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay, are moreover gaining traction. The report well-known that, rapidly after their introduction, many purchasers switched from using taking part in playing cards to digital wallets, drawn by the consolation of one-click funds and enhanced safety measures like biometrics.
“After we launched our first report on shopper funds preferences in early 2023, PayShap and direct monetary establishment APIs akin to Capitec Pay had not however come to market, digital wallets and even mobile money remained nascent and Pay by monetary establishment (beforehand commonly known as On the spot EFT) was merely starting to deal with taking part in playing cards as a result of the second most hottest on-line payment methodology,” Sew well-known
The rise of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) choices will be notable. Whereas not as widespread as digital wallets or monetary establishment funds, BNPL is trendy for larger purchases, considerably amongst youthful prospects. Retailers offering BNPL report larger widespread basket sizes and fewer abandoned transactions.
Nonetheless, not all payment methods are thriving. Cash utilization continues to say no, significantly for point-of-sale transactions. Some retailers, akin to a lot of Woolworths espresso retailers, have stopped accepting cash. Handbook EFTs are moreover falling out of favour because of sluggish processing cases and higher risks of failed funds or fraud. These are being modified by real-time monetary establishment APIs and instantaneous payment rails.
Typical card funds are nonetheless extensively used, nevertheless their dominance is fading. Further prospects now see taking part in playing cards as a lot much less helpful as compared with sooner, safer digital choices.
What’s driving the shift?
South Africans depend on instantaneous, frictionless funds on which digital wallets and monetary establishment APIs ship, making them additional partaking than taking part in playing cards or cash. Seen safety measures like biometrics and two-factor authentication are literally commonplace expectations. Consumers actively seek for these sooner than ending a transaction. Clients want seamless payment decisions all through on-line, in-app, and in-store environments. Corporations that offer these omnichannel (unified payment) experiences are seeing elevated purchaser loyalty.
Who risks being left behind?
Whereas the shift to digital is clear, it isn’t widespread. Rural communities, older South Africans, and folks with out reliable net entry is also excluded from this speedy transformation. As additional firms go cashless, there’s a precise hazard of leaving some prospects behind.
On the brighter side, there are indicators that folk can adapt when given the acceptable assist. As an illustration, tens of tens of millions of older and rural South Africans who as quickly as collected their SASSA grants in cash now receive their money on payment taking part in playing cards. Even Metrobus, modern with older passengers, has moved to a cashless system. These examples current that, with just a little little bit of help and digital know-how, many people can effectively make the swap to new strategies of paying.
For South African firms, integrating new payment methods and prioritising shopper experience are literally necessary. The winners will probably be those who ship protected, instantaneous, and seamless payment experiences, with out forgetting the needs of consumers who nonetheless rely on standard methods.
Throughout the coming years, the pliability to pay shortly and securely is just not going to easily be a consolation, nevertheless a aggressive profit.
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