South Africa is making meaningful progress in building out its digital payments infrastructure. But there is a critical gap in how this investment is being framed. Infrastructure on its own does not create economic activity. Hyperscale adoption embracing and adopting digital payment transactions do.
For the country’s SME sector, which underpins a significant portion of employment and economic participation, the ability to move money quickly, reliably and at scale is what determines whether digital infrastructure translates into real growth.
Age of faster digital payments
Insights from the 2025 Payfast State of Pay Report show just how central this has become. More than 80% of merchants expect digital payments to become their primary sales channel within the next three years, yet the majority operate at a scale where cash flow is highly sensitive to disruption.
For these businesses, payments are not a back-end function. They are the mechanism through which revenue is earned, accessed and reinvested, faster digital payments ensure that this reality is achieved.
Digital infrastructure needs to reach and connect businesses
South Africa’s digital infrastructure conversation remains heavily focused on infrastructure, connectivity, platforms and storage. These are essential foundations, but they do not complete the system. The missing layer is the one that enables value to circulate. And circulate at scale.
Without reliable payment infrastructure, digital ecosystems cannot convert activity into income. A completed transaction is what turns online presence into revenue and revenue into sustainability. This is where the real challenge is. South Africa, through a number of interventions over the years, has built scalable and world-class payments infrastructure, Payshap being the most recent launch.
For SMEs operating with fewer than ten employees and limited monthly turnover, even minor disruptions such as failed transactions or delayed settlements can halt operations. In this context, payment performance is not a technical metric. It is a business continuity factor.
Market already moving faster than headlines
Consumer behaviour is already ahead of the payments conversation. According to the 2025 State of Pay Report, while cards remain the dominant payment method, the landscape is diversifying rapidly as consumers shift toward faster, more flexible alternatives as a matter of preference, not novelty. This isn’t a gradual drift. It’s a market actively seeking out options and embracing them.
Businesses that cannot meet these expectations risk losing sales at the point of transaction. But enabling multiple payment methods is only part of the solution. The greater challenge is ensuring that these systems are integrated, reliable and capable of supporting real-time commerce across channels.
Fragmented infrastructure creates friction. For SMEs, that friction translates directly into lost revenue and constrained growth. We see this in practice across our merchant base. Fashion brand Fenn Collection scaled nationally once predictable settlement cycles removed cash flow bottlenecks. Ticketing platform iTickets improved event payouts by consolidating its payment rails. In both cases, growth followed better payment infrastructure.
From access to participation
As digital payments infrastructure investment accelerates and modernise, the focus must shift from capacity to participation.
It is not enough to build systems that store and connect. The priority should be enabling systems that allow businesses to trade, settle and grow without interruption. And low cost to drive scale and adoption.
Payment infrastructure is increasingly becoming the layer that determines whether businesses can participate fully in the digital economy.
It is also unlocking new forms of financial access, from real-time data insights to funding linked directly to transaction activity. These are not incremental improvements. They are structural enablers of growth for businesses that have historically been underserved.
The shift that matters
Digital payments must function and be considered critical infrastructure in South Africa. As national investment accelerates in connectivity and data centres, payments are the layer that activates this infrastructure, enabling real-time commerce, expanding inclusion and supporting economic growth.
This is where initiatives such as the South African Reserve Bank’s Payments Ecosystem Modernisation programme become critical, particularly in driving lower-cost, more accessible digital payment options that can accelerate adoption among SMEs and underserved communities.
The task now is to ensure that what flows through our digital infrastructure reaches the businesses and communities that need it most. Infrastructure creates capacity. Payments create participation. In an economy defined by millions of small businesses striving to grow, participation is everything.
South Africa does not face an infrastructure deficit but an opportunity for stronger alignment. By recognising payment systems as a core component of national digital infrastructure, the country can unlock substantially more value from the investments already made. In a digital economy, growth is ultimately driven not only by what is built but also by how effectively value is able to move.
Sadiki is the managing director of merchant services at Africa at Network International and Payfast by Network
- South Africa is advancing its digital payments infrastructure, yet the critical need is for hyperscale adoption that enables rapid, reliable transactions to drive real economic growth, especially for SMEs.
- SMEs rely on fast, dependable digital payments as essential to maintaining cash flow and business continuity, making payment performance a key factor for their survival and growth.
- While South African digital infrastructure investments focus on connectivity and platforms, the missing piece is a seamless, reliable payment system that ensures transactions convert to income at scale.
- Consumer payment preferences are shifting rapidly toward faster, more flexible methods, and businesses must offer integrated, reliable systems to avoid lost sales and support real-time commerce.
- To maximize impact, focus must move from mere infrastructure capacity to enabling broad payment participation, lowering costs, and enhancing financial access, with initiatives like the South African Reserve Bank’s modernisation programme playing a vital role.
For the country’s SME sector, which underpins a significant portion of employment and economic participation, the ability to move money quickly, reliably and at scale is what determines whether digital infrastructure translates into real growth.
Insights from the 2025 Payfast State of Pay Report show just how central this has become. More than 80% of merchants expect digital payments to become their primary sales channel within the next three years, yet the majority operate at a scale where cash flow is highly sensitive to disruption.
For these businesses, payments are not a back-end function.
For SMEs operating with fewer than ten employees and limited monthly turnover, even minor disruptions such as failed transactions or delayed settlements can halt operations. In this context, payment performance is not a technical metric. It is a business continuity factor.
Consumer behaviour is already ahead of the payments conversation.
Businesses that cannot meet these expectations risk losing sales at the point of transaction. But enabling multiple payment methods is only part of the solution.
Fragmented infrastructure creates friction. For SMEs, that friction translates directly into lost revenue and constrained growth. We see this in practice across our merchant base.
As digital payments infrastructure investment accelerates and modernise, the focus must shift from capacity to participation.
It is not enough to build systems that store and connect.
Payment infrastructure is increasingly becoming the layer that determines whether businesses can participate fully in the digital economy.
It is also unlocking new forms of financial access, from real-time data insights to funding linked directly to transaction activity.
Digital payments must function and be considered critical infrastructure in
Sadiki is the managing director of merchant services at Africa at Network International and Payfast by Network
