How SANI SIXT solves for payments challenges in the car rental space, with Stitch

The car rental industry faces some of the most complex requirements in the payments world. A single rental journey involves an online booking, a counter transaction, a pre-authorised hold (security deposit), potential incidental charges and, finally, the release of pre-authorised funds. Each step has its own timing requirements, its own risk profile and its own impact on customer experience.

SANI SIXT, the largest independently owned car rental fleet in South Africa and part of the SIXT global mobility network, has been operating since 1997. Over nearly three decades, the business has grown by combining the agility of an independently owned company with a focus on customer experience. Its customers span leisure travellers, tourists and corporate clients on monthly rentals, each with meaningfully different expectations around convenience, flexibility and transparency.

“While their requirements differ, all customers value convenience, reliability and transparency. Understanding these different customer needs allows us to design experiences that are fit for purpose.”‍

‍— Bertus Floor (Group Digital Officer, SANI SIXT)

The industry had accepted significant friction in the rental payment flow for decades. SANI SIXT decided to fix it, and came to Stitch to help.

20,000+

vehicles

36+

nation-wide branches

largest independently owned car rental fleet in South Africa

Challenge

Solution

Results

Challenge

What all SANI SIXT customers share is exposure to the pre-authorisation process. Pre-authorisations are standard practice in car rental: when a customer collects a vehicle, the provider places a hold on their card to cover the rental period and any potential additional charges. Once the rental closes without incident, that hold should be released.

In practice, the release process often runs across multiple systems, involves manual intervention and gives neither customers nor operators clear visibility into when funds will actually become available.

“Historically, the biggest pain point was managing pre-authorisations and, more importantly, releasing those funds once a rental was complete. The process of releasing those funds was often handled through multiple systems and could involve manual intervention, making it difficult for both customers and rental providers to track the status of the release.”‍

— Bertus Floor (Group Digital Officer, SANI SIXT)

SANI SIXT recognised that payment technology had advanced enough to change this. What it needed was a provider willing to engage with the problem collaboratively, rather than simply handing over a standard integration.

“We weren’t simply looking for a payment processor. We were looking for a technology partner that shared our commitment to innovation and customer experience. Our goal was to solve a long-standing industry challenge around delayed pre-authorisation releases, so we needed a provider willing to collaborate, innovate and build alongside us.”‍

— Bertus Floor (Group Digital Officer, SANI SIXT)

Solution

Stitch stood out for its modern infrastructure, technical depth and willingness to invest time in understanding the operational realities of the car rental environment, then building a custom solution together.

Working closely with the SANI SIXT team, Stitch helped automate and streamline the payment lifecycle across both online payments and in-person payments. The result is a consolidated, automated payments ecosystem that gives SANI SIXT greater visibility and control over every transaction in the rental journey, from online booking to counter transaction to the final release of the hold.

At the centre of the solution is pre-authorisation handling. SANI SIXT can now trigger the release of a customer’s authorised hold as soon as the rental is closed and all obligations have been met, instead of relying on manual processes across multiple systems.

Results

Pre-auth releases cut from 30 days to same day

Release time on card pre-authorisations has come down from 30 days to same day. Funds released from the pre-auth can be reflected in customer accounts as soon as requirements have been met. The time it takes for funds to clear still depends on the customer’s bank, but the release is actioned at the earliest possible moment, improving the experience for customers and for the SANI SIXT finance team.

One view across online and in-person

Having a single payments partner across both channels has simplified reconciliation and reporting across the business.

“Having a single payment partner across both channels provides a unified view of transactions throughout the business. Beyond simplifying reconciliation and reporting, it has improved efficiency by enabling all teams to work within a consolidated, automated payments ecosystem.”‍

— Bertus Floor (Group Digital Officer, SANI SIXT)

Consistency across a national footprint

For a business operating across major airports and branches throughout South Africa, payment consistency is imperative. At high-volume, time-sensitive airport counters, payment systems need to perform without interruption under peak demand to avoid delays at collection and return.

A payments foundation built to scale

South Africa’s tourism sector is growing, and SANI SIXT is investing accordingly, with fleet expansion, digital innovation and automation all part of its five-year strategy. The pre-authorisation work with Stitch fits squarely within that direction: a payments foundation capable of scaling efficiently as volumes increase. For corporate clients, that means structured account-based processes with the reporting and flexibility their programmes require. For individual travellers, it means a transparent payment journey at every stage of the rental, and the hold released as soon as the keys are handed back.

”