iKhokha vs SnapScan

iKhokha

Card machines you own

The iK Flyer Lite is R699 and the iK Flyer with a built in printer is R1 499, both bought outright. There is no rental on either, so a quiet month costs nothing.

iK Tap on Phone

Turns a compatible Android phone into the terminal at no cost, which is the cheapest way in this market to find out whether accepting cards changes your takings.

Rates that step down

In person local cards run at 2.75 percent excluding VAT up to R40 000 a month, then 2.65, 2.55 and 2.5 percent as turnover rises, with custom rates above R100 000.

Settlement timed to your bank

FNB and Absa customers are paid the next business day. Nedbank customers and iK debit card holders are paid twice a day, same day, which is a real cash flow difference.

Invoices, pay links and vouchers

Send an invoice or a payment link from the app, record cash sales, and sell prepaid airtime and gaming vouchers, which for many small shops is a second income line.

SnapScan

QR payments with no hardware

The payment instrument is a printed code, so there is nothing to buy, nothing to rent and nothing to fail at the counter.

Online checkout

The same account covers ecommerce payments on your website, which keeps one merchant relationship and one settlement stream rather than two.

Local point of sale integrations

Published connections to TallOrder, Pilot POS, EasiPOS, HumbleTill, Lightspeed and others, which are systems you actually meet in South African retail.

Billing integrations

Full integrations with Sage Accounting and with Healthbridge and Nexion for medical practices, so a payment can settle against the right invoice.

Rates that fall with turnover

The standard rate is 2.95 percent excluding VAT and reduces as monthly turnover grows, with custom rates available for larger merchants.

iKhokha

What it takes to start

There is no implementation in the software sense. You choose a machine, create an account in the app, upload your business documents for FICA verification and connect a bank account. Delivery is three to four working days anywhere in the country and the machine works out of the box. The only decision worth thinking about beforehand is which machine, and that turns on whether you need to hand a customer a printed slip. If you do, the iK Flyer with its built in printer is the one. If digital receipts are acceptable, the Flyer Lite is half the price. Tap on Phone needs nothing at all beyond a compatible Android handset, which makes it a sensible way to test whether card acceptance changes your takings before spending anything.

When something breaks

Support runs 24 hours a day, on the phone and on WhatsApp, and that is genuinely unusual at this end of the market. A trader whose machine stops working at seven on a Friday evening is losing money by the hour, and being able to reach a person then is worth more than most features. Hardware is covered by a 30 day money back guarantee, so a machine that turns out to be wrong for your counter can go back. Because you own the machine rather than renting it, a failure outside that window is a replacement you pay for, which is the trade you accept for having no monthly rental.

SnapScan

What it takes to start

Signing up is free and done online, after which you print the QR code and put it on the counter. There is nothing to install and nothing to configure for the simplest use. Where implementation does exist is in the connections. SnapScan publishes integrations with a long list of point of sale systems used in South African retail and hospitality, and with billing systems including Sage Accounting, so a payment can land against the right invoice rather than needing a manual match. Setting those up is a short piece of work with your point of sale supplier rather than a project, but do it before you go live, because reconciling QR payments by hand every day is how the saving disappears.

When something breaks

Support is local and reachable, and the merchant portal covers the day to day questions about payouts and reconciliation without needing to speak to anyone. Because there is no hardware, the failure modes are narrower than with a card machine. What goes wrong is usually a customer with no data or a payment that needs matching to an invoice, and both are handled in the portal. The thing to establish before committing is who supports the connection between SnapScan and your point of sale, because that link is usually owned by the point of sale supplier rather than by SnapScan.

iKhokha

• No monthly rental on any machine, so a quiet trading month costs you nothing at all
• Card machines are bought outright from R699, and iK Tap on Phone needs no hardware whatsoever
• Support runs 24 hours a day on phone and WhatsApp, which is unusual at this end of the market
• Rates step down automatically as monthly turnover grows, without renegotiating anything

• The entry rate of 2.75 percent excluding VAT is higher than the cheapest rival at low volume
• You buy the hardware up front rather than renting, which is a real cost for a new trader
• Card acceptance and simple invoicing only, so it is not a stock or table management system
• Unlimited data on the machine is a separate R75 each month if you want it

SnapScan

• Nothing to buy and nothing to rent, because the payment instrument is a printed QR code
• South African customers already recognise the code, which removes the explaining at the counter
• The rate falls as monthly turnover grows rather than staying fixed at the headline number
• Integrates with Sage Accounting and a long list of local point of sale systems

• At 2.95 percent excluding VAT it is dearer than a card machine rate for most merchants
• The customer needs a smartphone and a working data connection to pay you at all
• No card machine, so a customer wanting to tap a physical card cannot be served
• Narrow by design, offering payment acceptance rather than any kind of business management

iKhokha

iKhokha was built in Durban for the same merchants the banks would not onboard, and the local detail shows. FICA verification happens in the app, delivery is three to four working days anywhere in the country, and settlement timing depends on who you bank with. If you bank with FNB or Absa the money lands the next business day, and with Nedbank or the iK debit card you are paid twice a day. Support answering at ten at night matters more to a trader than a feature list does. The rate is the thing to model, because 2.75 percent excluding VAT at low volume is not the cheapest in this market, and only falls to 2.5 percent once you are turning over R80 000 a month.

SnapScan

SnapScan is one of the few payment products where the South African consumer side is already solved, because the app has been in circulation here for years and people know the code on sight. That familiarity is the whole argument for it. Signing up is free, there is no monthly fee and no hardware to finance, so a market trader or a small practice can take payment tomorrow. The published integration list is unusually local, covering Sage Accounting for billing and point of sale systems such as TallOrder, Pilot POS and EasiPOS that you actually meet in South African retail. Weigh the 2.95 percent excluding VAT against a card machine rate honestly, because on volume it is the more expensive way to be paid.

iKhokha

The right answer for a small South African trader with uneven months, who wants no fixed cost and a person on the phone at night. If your card turnover is steady and substantial, compare the blended rate against the alternatives before you commit, because the rate rather than the rental is where the money goes.

SnapScan

Excellent as a second way to be paid, and often the only one a market trader or a small practice needs. If cards are the main way your customers pay you, price a card machine properly before settling on this as the primary method.