South African instant payments platform PayShap is shifting its focus beyond peer-to-peer transfers, as it pushes to expand adoption across merchant payments, e-commerce and everyday transactions.
According to a statement, the next phase of growth for the real-time payments platform was a key focus at the inaugural PayInc PayShap Accelerate Acceptance Conference.
The event saw banks, fintech firms, payment providers, retailers and technology companies discuss how instant payments can play a bigger role in the country’s digital economy.
The discussions highlighted growing momentum around positioning PayShap as a low-cost alternative to cash for businesses ranging from informal traders and township spaza shops, to larger retailers and enterprises.
Seen by industry players as a game-changer in SA’s digital payments ecosystem, PayShap was developed as part of the South African Reserve Bank’s Vision 2025, which aims to modernise payment systems in the market, to reduce the number of unbanked South Africans.
It allows South African bank account-holders to pay and receive money (up to R3 000 per transaction) instantly, between participating banks. It also seeks to make conducting transactions without the need for bank account details possible. This is done through public and private identifiers, such as a registered mobile number or an e-mail address.
PayInc, formerly known as BankservAfrica, is the operator and infrastructure provider behind PayShap. It also coordinates the broader ecosystem around PayShap.
At the conference, industry stakeholders said broader merchant acceptance and seamless payment experiences will be central to scaling digital payments adoption in South Africa.
With 14 participating banks and more than 905 million transactions processed since its 2023 launch, PayShap surpassed six million registered users last month, signalling growing consumer uptake, they noted.
However, industry leaders argued that the platform’s long-term success will depend on expanding beyond person-to-person transfers into daily commerce and business payments.
“PayShap started with peer-to-peer payments, but the focus now is on merchant payments, e-commerce, mobile payments and broader ecosystem enablement,” said Israel Skosana, chief product and scheme officer at PayInc. “This is about building digital payments that work for everyone and creating a platform where the ecosystem can thrive.”
A theme emerging from the conference was the need to lower the cost of digital payments and improve consistency across banking applications to reduce friction for consumers and merchants.
Participants said inconsistent on-boarding processes, QR payment functionality and authentication experiences continue to create barriers to wider adoption.
Skosana added that collaboration across the payments ecosystem would be critical to unlocking the full value of instant payments.
“Reducing the cost of doing payments and ensuring seamless, consistent user experiences across banking channels are critical to unlocking the full potential of instant payments. These are areas where collaboration across the ecosystem will be essential,” he said.
“Payment infrastructure creates value when it is built together. Partnerships are not a nice-to-have; they are the mechanism through which impact will be achieved.”
The conference also highlighted the growing role fintech firms and payment providers are expected to play in building new services on top of PayShap, including merchant on-boarding tools, aggregation models and new payment experiences designed for everyday commerce.
Industry stakeholders identified QR-based payments and request-to-pay functionality as important tools for simplifying transactions and enabling wider accessibility across different merchant and customer environments.
Enoch Malisa, head of business development at PayInc, said the next challenge for the industry will be driving real-world adoption in underserved communities and informal trading environments.
“Driving real acceptance and building everyday demand for PayShap is the next milestone. The real measure of success is whether township retailers and underserved communities are meaningfully participating in digital payments today. That is where the industry’s focus now needs to shift.”
PayInc also plans to introduce a new advisory service aimed at helping ecosystem participants expand market participation and support wider PayShap adoption, noted Malisa.
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