PayShap in South Africa passed one billion transactions
By 20 October 2026, South Africa’s PayShap had processed more than one billion transactions worth more than R1 trillion since its launch in 2023. Cards still processed about 17 transactions for every PayShap transaction in 2025, based on the South African Reserve Bank governor’s comparison for that year. SARB Payments Conference address, 20 October 2026
By Freepaid · Published
What the Reserve Bank reported
The two cumulative rows cover payments since launch. The December row covers a single month, and its transactions are already included in the later cumulative figure.
| Reporting point | Period covered | PayShap transactions | Rand value |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2024 | Since launch | 14 million | More than R9 billion |
| December 2025 | One month | 60 million | More than R62 billion |
| 20 October 2026 address | Since launch | More than 1 billion | More than R1 trillion |
The March figure is from the SARB’s 2023 oversight report, and the December figure is from its 2025/26 oversight report. That later report notes that the volume and value charts include transactions moved from an earlier real-time clearing system. Growth in reported PayShap volume therefore includes a change in how some payments were routed. The figures count payments, so someone who used PayShap ten times accounts for ten transactions. SARB 2023 oversight report, section 4.2, p. 13 · SARB 2025/26 oversight report, section 4.4 and Figures 11–12, p. 30
How to read the comparison with cards
The governor put PayShap’s 2025 transaction count at about 6% of card volume. Freepaid inverted that rounded ratio: 100 divided by six gives about 17 card transactions for every PayShap transaction. The denominator is the card transaction count. It would be different for a measure of PayShap’s share of all payments.
The address also describes transfers between people as PayShap’s strongest use. The network total includes that activity, so it cannot answer how often customers use PayShap to buy airtime or electricity. For a view of how people paid for phone and data purchases in an earlier survey, see Cash and debit cards in South Africa’s 2023 payment diaries. SARB Payments Conference address, “PayShap and connectedness”
Sources
The South African Reserve Bank published the early milestones in its national payment system oversight reports. The October 2026 cumulative milestone and 2025 card comparison come from the governor’s address at the SARB Payments Conference.
Last source check · 3 November 2026.