Payments and e-commerce in the South Africa

Discover how South Africans like to shop and pay online

South Africa

General Information

  • Population 60.0 m
  • Population 15 + 42.7 m
  • Online population 38.5 m
  • Area 1,221,037 km2
  • Currency ZAR
  • GDP 415.3 bn $US
  • GDP per capita 6,917 $US
  • Card-based payments
  • Cash-based payments
  • Bank transfer
  • Wallets
  • Other
[{"label":"Card-based payments","value":"44"},{"label":"Cash-based payments","value":"10"},{"label":"Bank transfer","value":"19"},{"label":"Wallets","value":"19"},{"label":"Other","value":"8"}]
Banked population
  • South Africa 72%
  • Middle East & Africa 46%
  • World 67%
Credit card penetration
  • South Africa 10%
  • Middle East & Africa 8%
  • World 19%
Internet penetration
  • South Africa 64%
  • Middle East & Africa 47%
  • World 62%
Smartphone penetration
  • South Africa 78%
  • Middle East & Africa 43%
  • World 70%

From 2022 to 2028, South Africa’s social-commerce market is forecast to grow by 108%, to reach a value of over 1 billion $US.

Mobile’s average share of South African e-commerce is 46%, but in February 2022 m-commerce peaked at 63% — suggesting mobile shopping continues to grow in popularity.

There are already 109 million mobile connections in South Africa and the number of individuals with a mobile phone grew by 5% between 2021 and 2022.

Between 2022 and 2027, the value of digital payments in South Africa is expected to grow from 14 bn $US to 25 bn $US.

Asked what they most like about online shopping, 49% of South Africans said convenience and a massive 77% said they use e-commerce to avoid crowds.

Future e-commerce trends (2021-2026)

B2C e-commerce ($US billion)
2022 4.9
2023 5.9
2024 7.0
2025 8.2
2026 9.4
E-commerce spending per capita ($US)
2022 81
2023 96
2024 113
2025 130
2026 148
E-commerce spending as % of GDP
2022 1.2%
2023 1.4%
2024 1.6%
2025 1.7%
2026 1.9%

South Africa

The E-Commerce Market

Top e-commerce segments

  1. Fashion: 32%
  2. Toys, Hobby & DIY: 27%
  3. Electronics & Media: 18%
  4. Furniture & Appliances: 15%
  5. Food & Personal Care: 8%

Cross-border e-commerce

  1. % of online shoppers who have shopped cross-border – 66%

Top 3 cross-border shopping origin markets

  1. China
  2. Germany
  3. US
B2C e-commerce growth 20->21
  • South Africa 18.9%
E-commerce % of total retail
  • South Africa 4%
  • Middle East & Africa 9%
  • World 20%
E-commerce completed on a mobile device
  • South Africa 46%
  • Middle East & Africa 47%
  • World 53%

The Credit Card Split

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Other
[{"label":"Visa","value":"51"},{"label":"Mastercard","value":"47"},{"label":"American Express","value":"1"},{"label":"Other","value":"1"}]
  • E-commerce market size 4.0 bn $US
  • E-commerce spending per capita 66 $US
  • E-commerce spending as % of GDP 1.1%

The information on our Insights pages has been compiled by us in cooperation with Datamatics and Wright & Brown. The data shown is partially owned by us and partially owned by GlobalData. © 2021 by PPRO Financial Ltd. No data and information can be used for any further publication without the explicit approval of PPRO.

South Africa

Local Payment Methods

BitPay Type Cryptocurrency Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Hyperwallet Type Bank transfer, Prepaid voucher, Gift card Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High PayPal Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Paysera Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High PayU Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 2 Market relevance High Skrill Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Allied Wallet Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High UnionPay SecurePay Type Local payment card Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Apple Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High DaoPay Type Carrier billing Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Google Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Masterpass Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Mobiamo Type Carrier billing Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High mobicred Type Instalments Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance High Razer Gold Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High Samsung Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High SnapScan Type Wallet Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance High SWIFT Type Bank transfer Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance High FNB Cell Pay Point Type Wallet Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium MobiCash Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium MTN Mobile Money Type Wallet Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance Medium SiD Instant EFT Type Bank transfer Regions Middle East & Africa Market relevance Medium Wallet One Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 2 Market relevance Medium Zip Type Buy Now, Pay Later Regions Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, North America + 2 Boloro Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 G2A Pay Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 Market relevance Medium NETELLER Type Wallet Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3 payD Type Wallet Regions Middle East & Africa Splitit Type Instalments Regions Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & the CIS, Middle East & Africa + 3

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