Which payment methods should an online store offer in South Africa in 2026?
Start with Visa and Mastercard cards plus Apple Pay and Google Pay, then add pay by bank with Capitec Pay, Instant EFT and PayShap. BNPL from Payflex or PayJustNow lifts basket size, and a cash voucher such as 1Voucher or OTT reaches shoppers without cards. In Stitch's 2026 survey, 93.3% of consumers tried a new payment method in the past year.
In detail
A South African checkout in 2026 should combine cards, wallets, bank payments, BNPL and a cash option.
The core
- Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards, with debit leading.
- Apple Pay and Google Pay. Apple Pay became the most-used e-commerce method by volume on Stitch's platform in Q1 2026.
Bank payments
- Capitec Pay, preferred online by 24.6% of shoppers in Stitch's 2026 survey.
- Instant EFT through gateways that cover other banks.
- PayShap Request, for instant payments approved in the banking app.
Extras that widen reach
- BNPL from Payflex or PayJustNow, which lifts basket size. 71% of credit-active consumers use BNPL at some frequency.
- A cash voucher such as 1Voucher or OTT, or pay-at-till codes, for shoppers without cards.
Shoppers are open to change: in Stitch's 2026 survey, 93.3% of consumers tried a new payment method in the past year. Online retail was expected to pass R130 billion in 2025.
What it means for payment operators
For operators, this means several local providers per merchant. Connecting them once, activating the right mix for each merchant and routing card traffic to reduce failed attempts gives South African merchants a complete checkout without separate integrations.