Important information for people who pay with bank cards in South Africa

The South African Consumer Goods and Services Ombudsman (CGSO) says retailers and traders in the country aren’t allowed to add a surcharge for card payments.

Speaking to Cape Talk, Ombudsman Liaquat “Lee” Soobrathi said suppliers and retailers who do so are effectively penalising shoppers for choosing to pay with a debit or check card.

“The simple answer to the question is no. In South Africa, you are not allowed to charge a surcharge simply because someone chooses to use a bank card as a method of payment,” he says.

“A supplier could be an informal trader. It could be someone that you see at a market. They are not allowed to charge you a surcharge simply because you want to use a card.”

Soobrathi explained that suppliers who choose to offer card or tap payments do so to make it convenient for their customers.

“In no way can the consumer be penalised for that choice,” he stated.

Referencing Section 23 of the Consumer Protection Act, Soobrathi said retailers must charge the price they advertise or have marked on the product.

“I can’t get to the till and then all of a sudden stand back and wonder why I am being charged R10 extra, R5 extra,” he said.

“It’s not fair within the borders of South Africa, and it’s something that we would frown upon.”

It should be noted that this also applies to tap payments made with digital wallets such as Apple Wallet, Garmin Pay, Google Wallet, and SwatchPay.

These apps enable cardholders to link their physical or virtual bank cards, allowing them to make in-person payments using contactless-enabled smartphones and wearables.

Payments like these are seeing an uptick in popularity in South Africa. Not only are they convenient, but digital wallets also offer additional security through biometric authentication, PINs, and passcodes.

South Africans are saying goodbye to physical bank cards

The recent financial results of three major South African banks indicate that residents are increasingly adopting digital wallets and virtual cards, thereby reducing their reliance on physical card payments.

Absa, Discovery Bank, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank have offered digital wallet support for several years, and several of these banks have continued to see significant growth in the payment method.

FNB recorded a 45% increase in digital wallet transaction volumes in its 2025 financial year and a 68% increase in virtual card transaction values.

This is impressive, considering virtual card transactions already accounted for 11.5% of all card spend at FNB in 2024.

Nedbank also saw strong digital contactless payment growth, with volumes increasing by 61% in the first half of its 2025 financial year.

Discovery Bank has also recently stated that over 60% of its customers prefer to pay with digital wallets instead of physical cards.

Capitec, South Africa’s largest bank by customers, introduced digital wallet support in 2022, several years after some of its competitors.

It recorded rapid uptake in its 2025 financial year, with digital wallet transactions increasing by 159%, reaching 167 million transactions.

“The spend by clients using Apple Pay, Garmin Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay increased by more than 2.5 times to R43.2 billion (2024: R13.1 billion), while volumes increased to 167.2 million transactions (2024: 64.5 million),” it said.

“A total of one million clients make use of these products (2024: 0.5 million).”

The trends observed with major banks correlate with the findings of Stitch’s 2025 State of Consumer Payments in South Africa report.

The survey, conducted among 2,000 South Africans, found that 90% had tried or used payment methods other than cash or cards.

The table below summarises the increase in digital wallet and virtual card spending among major banks that recently published financial results with details about digital wallet and virtual card uptake.

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