How Do I Accept In-Person Payments?

In-person payments are payments taken face to face, whether at a till, a market stall, a restaurant table or a customer's front door. In South Africa the main options are card machines, tap-to-pay on a smartphone, and QR code payments, and many businesses use a combination.

The right choice depends on your transaction volumes, whether you trade from a fixed location or on the move, and how much hardware you want to manage. Kwik offers in-person card acceptance through point-of-sale (POS) devices alongside its online payment options, so card, online and debit order collections can be managed in one place.

What is a card machine and how does it work?

A card machine, also called a POS terminal or speed point, reads the customer's card and sends the transaction for authorisation. Modern devices accept:

• Tap (contactless) – the customer taps a card, phone or smartwatch on the terminal. Most in-person card payments in South Africa are now contactless.
• Insert (chip and PIN) – the customer inserts the card and enters a PIN, typically required for higher amounts.
• Digital wallets – Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay all work on contactless terminals. See digital wallets.

Terminals come in two broad forms:

Providers price terminals differently — some rent the device monthly, some sell it outright, and transaction fees vary by provider and card type — so compare total cost rather than just the headline rate.

Can I accept card payments on my phone without a machine?

Yes. SoftPOS (also called tap-to-pay on phone) turns an NFC-capable Android smartphone into a card terminal using only an app. The customer taps their card or phone against yours, and the payment is processed like any other contactless transaction.

SoftPOS suits sole traders, delivery drivers and low-volume sellers because there is no hardware to buy or rent. The trade-off is that it depends on your phone's battery, connectivity and NFC hardware, and PIN entry for larger amounts happens on the phone screen.

What about QR code payments?

QR payments let the customer scan a code with their banking app or a wallet app such as SnapScan or Zapper and approve the payment on their own phone. You can display a static printed code at the till or generate a dynamic code per transaction with the amount included.

QR is popular where card machines are impractical — markets, events, parking, donations — and requires no hardware beyond the printed code or a screen. Read more in QR code payments.

How quickly do I receive the money?

In-person card payments are authorised in seconds, but settlement into your business bank account typically takes one or more business days, depending on your provider and agreement. Funds settle to your nominated account at any major bank, including Absa, FNB, Nedbank, Standard Bank and Capitec. The mechanics are the same as for online card payments; see how payments work.

What do I need to get started?

Requirements are similar to accepting payments online:

• A registered business or valid South African ID for sole proprietors
• A business bank account for settlement
• FICA documentation for verification
• A merchant account with a merchant ID, which your payments provider arranges

Which in-person option should I choose?

As a rule of thumb:

• Fixed retail with steady volume – a countertop or portable card terminal.
• Mobile trading or occasional sales – SoftPOS on a smartphone.
• Very low cost, no hardware at all – a static QR code, or payment links sent to the customer on the spot via WhatsApp.

Many businesses also accept in-person and online payments through the same provider so that reporting, settlement and reconciliation stay in one place. For help weighing up the broader mix of methods, see which payment methods should your business offer, or go back to the accepting payments hub.