South Africa consumer payments report 2025: key statistics and trends

South Africa's payments landscape shifted meaningfully in 2024. According to Stitch's 2025 Consumer Payments Report — based on a survey of over 2,000 South Africans conducted in partnership with global research firm Censuswide, and supplemented by social listening data from DataEQ — more than 90% of South Africans tried a new payment method in the past year. The message for enterprise businesses and e-commerce merchants is clear: consumer payment behaviour is no longer stable, and the businesses that move with it will have a measurable advantage.

Here are the key findings.

Download the full report.

Key statistics from the 2025 report

About the research: Stitch surveyed approximately 2,000 South African adults across ages, income levels, genders and locations in partnership with global research firm Censuswide. The fieldwork ran from 28 February to 7 March 2025. Online sentiment data covering thousands of consumer conversations was analysed by data and research firm DataEQ, focusing on the retail and insurance sectors.

Online shopping adoption

The proportion of South Africans shopping online has grown substantially in just two years. In 2023, 71% of respondents said they purchased food and groceries online and 60% purchased clothing and apparel online. By 2025, only 5% of respondents said they do not purchase food and groceries online, and only 3% do not purchase apparel or household goods online.

Despite this growth, online purchases still represent less than 10% of all retail transactions in South Africa. According to a Mastercard study, the figure was closer to 6% of retail transactions in 2023, with projections reaching 10% only by 2026. In-store retail therefore remains critically significant even for consumers who do shop online.

Willingness to try new payment methods

More than 90% of survey respondents said they had tried or used a new payment method outside of cash or card in the last year. Only 9.7% said they had not used any new or alternative payment methods in the past year.

Of those who tried a new method for the first time in the past year, the breakdown was as follows: Pay by bank or Instant EFT was tried by 45% of respondents, Capitec Pay by 42%, PayShap by 29%, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay by 24%, mobile money or wallets such as MTN MoMo by 22%, Buy Now Pay Later by 10%, and Pay with crypto by 10%.

Digital wallets

Among South Africans who use digital wallets, Google Pay is the most widely used at 37% of respondents, followed by Samsung Pay at 21% and Apple Pay at 18%. 30% of respondents said they do not currently use any digital wallet — down from 46% in the previous year's survey, when 46% indicated they had never used Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay.

One in five South Africans are now regular users of digital wallets for daily transactions, with 23% of respondents saying they use them frequently or always. Adoption is highest among high-income consumers: 53% use Google Pay, 40% use Apple Pay and 39% use Samsung Pay among those on the highest income brackets.

Apple Pay: real-world conversion data

When Stitch Express merchants launched Apple Pay at checkout on Shopify, WooCommerce and other e-commerce platforms, more than 25% of customers chose it immediately — and checked out faster. On average, these merchants saw more than 30% of their transactions move from card to Apple Pay within two months.

Transaction success rates also improved significantly. Nearly 96% of Apple Pay transactions were successful immediately, compared to 80% for card payments.

On one of South Africa's largest online retail sites, Apple Pay was used for more than 33% of orders placed by customers with Apple devices within the first week of launch — representing 10% of all orders on the site. Within two weeks, that figure rose above 40% for Apple users. Uptake on the day of launch alone was nearly 20%.

The conversion rate for Apple Pay through Stitch has been consistently above 90% — well above that of card. 50% of Apple Pay transactions are processed in under 3 seconds from initiation, and 95% are processed within 5 seconds.

Checkout experience and conversion

57% of South African consumers said a fast, easy payment process would convince them to choose one online platform over another, even when products and prices are comparable. This was the second most important factor overall for a positive online checkout experience, after faster shipping or delivery (68%).

46% said they want access to the specific payment methods they prefer, and 26% said the ability to pay in one click as a returning customer matters to their checkout experience.

71% of would-be customers in South Africa abandon a purchase due to a payment failure. Of those, approximately 62% do not return to the same platform at all. According to a Mastercard study cited in the report, South African retailers identified payment failures as their number one operational challenge, ahead of customer service problems — and declined card transactions are the single biggest cause of cart abandonment, accounting for approximately 52.2% of lost online sales.

Safety and security

59% of consumers said being asked for two-factor authentication makes them feel an online payment is safe. 56% cited the ability to authorise via biometric authentication as a safety signal. 49% said a clear privacy or data protection policy builds their confidence.

Conversely, unexpected pop-ups or redirects were the top red flag for 57% of respondents. 56% said too many requests for personal information would make them worried. 51% cited the absence of 2FA or OTP as a concern. 45% said they would not feel safe making a payment if they did not recognise the payment provider — highlighting the importance of white-labelled checkout experiences that surface the merchant's own brand.

Over 90% of respondents said they would prefer to use biometrics or passkeys to approve a payment if given the option. Only 2.7% said they would never use these methods.

30% of respondents agreed that online purchases feel more secure than in-store purchases, with more than 10% agreeing strongly. Only 24% disagreed.

Payment method preferences by sector

For online food and grocery purchases, card remains the most preferred method at 34%, but Pay by bank or Instant EFT has grown to 18% and Capitec Pay to 13%, with digital wallets at 6%.

For top-ups into online gaming or betting accounts, Pay by bank has edged out card as the most preferred method. For deposits into financial, crypto or investment accounts, the gap widens further: Pay by bank is preferred by 22%, Capitec Pay by 11% and manual EFT by 10%, compared to card at 16%.

For in-person purchases, card leads at 41–42% across food and apparel, but cash remains strong at 21–26%. Newer methods — Capitec Pay, Pay by bank and digital wallets — were collectively selected by 25% of consumers as their preferred in-person payment method.

Traditional payment methods and debit order

Debit order remains the most popular method for insurance premium payments (41% of respondents) and debt or loan repayments (38%). However, consumer sentiment around how debit orders are processed and managed is significantly negative.

DataEQ's analysis of online conversations in the insurance sector found that 85% of sentiment around the debit order payments experience was negative, 13% was neutral, and only 2% was positive. The issues most frequently cited were unauthorised debits, billing errors, charges continuing after cancellation, and delayed refunds.

In a time-bound proof of concept with a major South African collections business, Stitch cleaned mandate data, identified the reasons for failed collections, and established a fallback bank. The result was a 74% collection rate on mandates that had previously been deemed uncollectable — reducing failed transaction fees and operational overhead in the process.

Cash

46% of cash users said they continue using cash because not all places accept digital payments. 43% cited a desire to avoid transaction fees. 39% said cash helps them manage their personal spending. 36% find it more convenient. 32% use it for privacy and security reasons. Only 18% said distrust in digital methods is the reason — a meaningful drop compared to previous surveys, suggesting that access and cost barriers, rather than trust, are now the primary drivers of cash persistence.

26% of consumers still prefer cash for in-store food and grocery purchases. 11% use cash on delivery for online food orders.

Buy Now Pay Later

BNPL adoption remains lower than other alternative payment methods in terms of frequency. 55% of respondents said they never use BNPL, 19% use it rarely, 16% occasionally, 7% frequently and 3% always. However, merchants that offer BNPL report higher average cart values and lower checkout drop-off rates, particularly for higher-value retail purchases among mid-to-high income earners.

Omnichannel retail

64% of South African online shoppers have checked online whether a product is available in-store before purchasing. 40% have ordered online and collected in-store. Retailers that can offer a consistent payments experience across online and in-person channels are increasingly able to use this as a competitive differentiator.

Pick n Pay Pay with crypto

In 2024, Pick n Pay introduced Pay with crypto. By late 2024, the retailer was processing over R1 million per month in crypto transactions. DataEQ analysis showed 57% positive sentiment around crypto payment mentions at Pick n Pay — compared to 43% positivity for other payment types at the same retailer — demonstrating that payment method innovation can improve broader brand perception, not just conversion.

Stitch platform performance

Stitch reports a 99.995% uptime rate and an average improvement of 10% or more in payments conversion for clients switching to Stitch compared on a like-for-like basis with their previous provider. One-click, optimised payment flows reduce time to payment to as little as 1 second for returning customers.

What this means for your payements strategy

South African consumers are increasingly open to adopting new payment methods, quicker to abandon on failure  and more influenced by checkout experience than most businesses measure. The 2025 data points to a market where payments infrastructure is a strong growth lever, and not just an operational necessity.

Download the full report.

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FAQs

What payment methods are growing fastest in South Africa in 2025?

‍Pay by bank recorded the fastest growth of any payment method in Stitch's 2025 Consumer Payments Report. Capitec Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay are also gaining adoption rapidly, with consumers switching quickly once these methods become available on platforms they use.

How does checkout experience affect consumer behaviour in South Africa?

‍According to Stitch's 2025 Consumer Payments Report, 56% of South Africans say checkout experience influences where they choose to shop. 71% will abandon a payment if it fails on the first attempt, and 62% say they won't return to that merchant after a failed payment.

What is the conversion rate for Apple Pay in South Africa?

‍Apple Pay processed via Stitch consistently achieves a conversion rate above 90%, with 50% of transactions completing in under three seconds and 95% completing within five seconds, according to Stitch's 2025 data.

How quickly do South African consumers adopt new payment methods?

‍Adoption can be near-immediate when demand exists. On one major South African retail platform, Apple Pay reached 33% of Apple device orders within one week of launch and exceeded 40% within two weeks, according to Stitch's 2025 Consumer Payments Report.

How can businesses improve debit order collection rates in South Africa?

‍In a Stitch pilot using authenticated debit order technology, Stitch collected on 74% of previously uncollectable mandates. Upgrading to authenticated collections infrastructure — such as DebiCheck — materially improves recovery rates and reduces negative customer sentiment associated with failed debit orders.

Why do South African consumers abandon payments?

‍The primary drivers are payment failure, slow or unfamiliar checkout experiences, and a lack of visible security indicators. 71% of South Africans abandon a payment after a single failure, making first-attempt success rate a critical metric for any business processing online payments.