PayShap South Africa is a newly launched payment system that is likely to gain widespread usage in the country – which is why it is important to know how to send or receive money with it.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB), BankservAfrica and the Payments Association of South Africa launched PayShap on Monday, 13 March 2023.
What is PayShap South Africa?
According to the Reserve Bank’s media release, PayShap South Africa is a “low-value, real-time rapid payment platform.” It is aimed at “deepening financial inclusion of both consumers and small businesses” by making payments more convenient and reducing reliance on cash.
“The initial rollout of PayShap, beginning on 13 March 2023, will offer consumers access to instant, real-time payments across participating banks as well as the use of an alias that will enable payments to be made through the use of a unique identifier other than a bank account number; in this case, a cellphone number,” the Reserve Bank said.
With PayShap, you can send or receive money instantly using a ShapID, whether or not you’re using the same bank with the recipient/sender. The ShapID is linked to your bank account and can be your cellphone number or a unique name. This means you do not have to remember or share your bank account details to receive a payment. If you have multiple bank accounts, you can create a ShapID for each account using the same cellphone number.
At launch, the maximum transaction value is R3,000. Payments reflect immediately in your account, thus removing the waiting periods associated with inter-bank payments.
In the initial phase, participating banks include Absa, FNB, Standard Bank and Nedbank. More banks will join in the second phase. Both the sender and recipient’s banks need to offer PayShap for the transaction to be processed. “The SARB further expects the offering to be extended for service provision by non-banks as soon as it is practically possible,” SARB added.
How to send money with PayShap
You can send money with PayShap on your bank’s mobile app by following the steps below:
- Log into your mobile app and tap on the PayShap icon to register. You will be prompted to create a ShapID, which will be in this format: cellphonenumber@bankname. For example: +27-123456789@standardbank.
- Once you have registered successfully, enter the ShapID details (cellphone@bankname) of the person you wish to pay or send money to.
- The app will notify you if the ShapID exists or not. If it exists, you will see further details of the recipient, such as their name. If the ShapID does not exist, you will be unable to make they payment.
- Confirm the ShapID details with the recipient before completing the payment.
- A fee may apply.
How to receive money with PayShap
To receive money with PayShap, simply provide your ShapID to the payer/sender, who will then make the payment. If the transaction is successful, the money will reflect immediately in your bank account.
If you do not have a ShapID, log into your bank’s mobile app and tap on the PayShap icon to register. You will be prompted to create a ShapID, which will be in this format: cellphonenumber@bankname. For instance: +27-123456789@standardbank.
According to the PayShap South Africa website, you can also provide your banking details to the sender if you do not have a ShapID. Payments made via PayShap will still reflect in your account immediately.
Depending on the bank, you can also perform PayShap transactions and registration via internet/online banking or cellphone banking platforms.
For more information, visit PayShap’s help centre here.