3: the number of partners behind First National Bank’s new real-time, authorisation-led account-to-account payment application programming interface (API), launched with Ozow and Rand Merchant Bank to replace traditional electronic funds transfers (EFTs). Customers authenticate payments inside the First National Bank or Rand Merchant Bank app, enabling immediate, push-based clearing rather than waiting for batch EFT settlement.
The materially new element is the shift from “pay and pray” EFTs to confirmed, authorisation-first flows that settle in real time. By keeping approval in the banking app, the model aims to reduce fraud risk from redirected links, cut payment drop-offs at checkout, and shrink reversals. For merchants, faster certainty of funds can lower cart abandonment and support tighter cash cycles, while consumers avoid card details and delayed EFT confirmations.
This move inches South Africa’s retail payments closer to always-on, instant account-to-account rails, potentially chipping away at card volumes where speed and certainty matter. If pricing undercuts instant EFT aggregators and card acceptance, competitive pressure could build across payment gateways and acquirers, while banks weigh the trade-off between fee income and customer stickiness.
Investors should watch merchant uptake at large e-commerce checkouts, reliability and uptime during peak trading, the fee structure versus card and instant EFT alternatives, and any transaction limits that could cap use cases. Also monitor the knock-on for electronic funds transfer volumes and settlement float, as faster payments can pull forward cash receipts and alter working capital dynamics for retailers and platforms.
For more detail, read the full announcement.