Tapping a card or smartphone at the point of sale is rapidly taking off as a payment method in South Africa, judging by new statistics published by Standard Bank on Thursday.

“More than half of Standard Bank’s customers now opt to tap their cards or phones at supermarkets, restaurants and fuel stations,” the bank said in an e-mailed statement.

“As merchants increasingly adopt this technology and digital wallets become more popular, contactless payments have risen to account for 53% of all transactions, up from 42% just two years ago.”

Standard Bank said it recorded the most significant growth in tap to pay in 2023, with the value of contactless payments increasing by 37%. “This year alone, the growth has continued with an additional 14% rise.”

And the trend spans all income brackets, with Standard Bank noting double-digit year-on-year increases in tap-to-pay transactions among both middle- and high-income clients. “Notably, some client segments have shown an organic inclination to contactless payments, with 81% using this method regularly.”

For credit card users, the shift to contactless payments is even more pronounced, with over 60% of their transactions using this method, said head of credit Tumelo Ramugondo.

“Consumers are becoming more accustomed to the tap functionality, and it’s becoming increasingly entrenched among merchants across various industries.

Digital wallets

“While essentials like groceries, fuel, and utilities still dominate transaction categories, there’s a growing trend of discretionary spending through tap to pay. Standard Bank has reported a notable 23% year-on-year increase in contactless payments at clothing and footwear retailers this year, reflecting the expanding use of this convenient payment method,” said Ramugondo.

The value of transactions paid via digital wallets like to devices like Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Garmin Pay and Google Pay increased by more than 65% year on year at the end of August. Digital wallet transactions now comprise 13% of all Standard Bank’s contactless payments transactions – up from 4% two years ago.

The bank said on Thursday that it has also seen a marked decline in the number of transactions taking place in its branches in South Africa as clients shift to digital channels.

“Standard Bank branch transactions decreased by 13% in the first half of 2024 to around 2.5 million transactions. Over the same period, online transactions increased by 30% to 1.5 billion transactions,” it said. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media