Explainer
Which Card Machines Keep Trading Through Load Shedding (2026)
Load shedding doesn't stop a card machine, it stops your router. Which machines keep trading, what each one costs, and who pays for the data.
Some links here are referral links, and where a provider gives our readers a better price than its own site, that is the price you get by using one. It costs you nothing extra, and every option here is judged on the same test either way.
Whether you can take a payment at 6pm on stage 4 has almost nothing to do with the card machine's battery. Every machine has one, which is why the guides that ask about it are asking the wrong question.
What fails is your router. It's mains-powered, it has no battery, and it goes down in the same second the lights do. A card machine running on shop Wi-Fi goes with it. A reader that pairs to your phone is only as good as your phone, which during a power cut is also your torch and your only line to a supplier.
So ask one thing before you buy: does this machine reach the internet on its own?
So which card machine keeps working?
First, get battery out of your head. Yoco says the Khumo 2 lasts up to 18 hours, and iKhokha says its machines have all-day battery life. Both comfortably outlast a four-hour block, so no machine on this page is going to run flat on you mid-queue. If you take your machine out on the road, our list of portable card machines compares the batteries and how each one charges.
What actually separates them is the mobile data, and specifically who pays for it.
Each company's own wording on connectivity and battery. Prices are in the next section.
What each machine needs to take a payment
| Yoco Khumo 2 | iKhokha iK Flyer Lite | WAPPoint SquarePOS RX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Own mobile data | Yes, included | Yes, R75 a month | Yes, Vodacom or MTN |
| Cost of the data | R0 | A flat R75 a month | Not stated for rentals |
| Battery, as the company states it | Up to 18 hours | All-day battery life | All-day trading |
| Works if the router dies | Yes | Yes, with the SIMs | Yes, with the SIM |
All three are standalone card machines that reach the network on their own. Between Yoco and iKhokha it isn't a capability gap, it's an invoice.
Yoco is the one where staying online during a power cut costs you nothing. The Khumo 2 has built-in 4G with unlimited data included at no extra cost, and iKhokha's SIMs cost a flat R75 a month. Over a year that's R900 for the same capability.
That said, iKhokha's machines are exactly as standalone as Yoco's, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.
If you already run an inverter, put the router on it and run the iKhokha on shop Wi-Fi for free. A router and a fibre box draw a few watts and will sit on a small inverter for hours. Most people wire the lights and the fridge, and leave the one box the payment actually needs on the wall socket.
What each one costs you
If you're ready to buy, here's the quick version.
Yoco Khumo 2, R699. 2.30% Excluding VATThe rate before 15% VAT is added, which is how almost every South African provider quotes. A rate of 2.30% excl. VAT actually bills you 2.645%, so two quotes are only comparable once you know which basis each is on.What 2.30% bills2.645% once VAT is added. On R10 000 a month in card sales that's R264.50, not R230.Every card machine rate in South Africa is quoted excluding VAT, which makes the providers directly comparable to each other and not to anything else you're pricing. If you're working out whether to spend on backup power instead, compare the VAT-inclusive number, because that is what actually leaves your account. If your business is VAT-registered you claim it back and the excluding number is the real one.See every term in the glossary per sale, nothing monthly on Core (Yoco's plan)Yoco's standard plan, and the one almost every small business is on. It costs R0 a month, charges 2.30% excluding VAT per local card sale, and includes unlimited mobile data on the machine's multi-network SIM at no extra cost. Instant Payout costs a flat R17.25 for a payout under R1 000 and 1.5% above that on Core, for up to R10 000, once a day.Why it matters when the power goesR0 a month, with unlimited data on the machine's SIM included. A machine that costs nothing monthly is one you can keep charged in a drawer for the days you need it.Core is Yoco's standard plan and the one almost every small business is on. Nothing on it is billed monthly and unlimited mobile data is included, which is the part that matters during load shedding: when the fibre goes down with the power, the card machine is already on its own connection and you aren't paying extra for that.See every term in the glossary, and unlimited data is included. This is the one to buy if load shedding is what's driving the decision. The Khumo Print 2 is the same machine with a thermal printer at R1 399.
iKhokha iK Flyer Lite, R699 (down from R999, and about R629 with iKhokha's 10% off through the links here). 2.10% excluding VAT, a flat R75 a month if you want its SIMs, or R0 on Wi-Fi. Buy this one if your counter should also be selling airtime, electricity and vouchers, because Yoco can't do that at all. The iK Flyer at R1 499 is simply the printing version of the same machine.
WAPPoint, if you'd rather rent than buy. R200 to set up instead of R699, the machine comes with its own Vodacom or MTN SIM, and the R189 rental falls away above R15 000 a month, though the R50 insurance doesn't. It costs more over a year, which we worked out in the WAPPoint review.
Here are the best card machines you can get for less than R700 that keep trading through load shedding, because each one carries its own SIM and battery. I've also included the discounts and incentives for buying them today.
Yoco Khumo 2
R699, or R599 with Yoco's R100 off on this page. Unlimited data is included, so a power cut costs you nothing extra.
iKhokha iK Flyer Lite
R699, about R629 with iKhokha's 10% off on this page. Its SIMs are a flat R75 a month, and it sells airtime and electricity when the lights are out.
WAPPoint SquarePOS RX
A rental: R200 to set up, R189 a month plus R50 insurance, and the rental falls away above R15 000.
If you need the versions of these card machines with a built-in printer, here they are, also with their discounts through us.
Yoco Khumo Print 2
R1 399, or R1 299 with Yoco's R100 off on this page. The Khumo 2 with a printer, and still nothing to pay each month on Core.
iKhokha iK Flyer
R1 499, about R1 349 with iKhokha's 10% off on this page. It prints the slip and the prepaid voucher.
WAPPoint PrintPOS
R299 a month plus R50 insurance, waived above R45 000, with an optional R50 app to sell airtime and electricity.
The part of this we cannot measureHonest caveat
A standalone card machine is only as good as the tower it reaches, and we can't tell you how long your tower stays up. Operators run battery and generator backup at their sites, that backup is finite, and how long it lasts depends on the site and on how many hours the area has already been dark. Every number we could find for it was either a national average or a vendor's marketing, so we don't give one. What we can tell you is the order things fail in: your router first, your phone second, the card machine's battery a distant third, and the tower last.
The verdict
If your shop has no backup power and the lights go often, buy the Yoco Khumo 2. It keeps you online through a power cut at no monthly cost, there's nothing to switch on and nothing extra to pay, and at R699 it's the same price as everything else at this end of the market.
If your router is already on an inverter, stop weighing this. Both machines will keep taking payments straight through a block, and you should be choosing on the fee, or on whether you want to sell prepaid on the side, instead. Our head-to-head covers both of those properly.
One last thing worth doing either way, and it takes five minutes: set up a payment link in your provider's app. Yoco and iKhokha both include them free. The customer pays on their own phone and their own data, so it works even when your card machine is flat and your router is dark.
Questions people ask us
Do card machines work during load shedding?
Yes, if the machine has its own mobile data.Every current card machine runs on a battery, so the machine itself keeps working; what stops is usually the Wi-Fi router, which has no battery. A standalone card machine with a built-in SIM reaches the network the same way a phone does and keeps taking cards. A reader that pairs to your phone depends on that phone instead.
How long does a card machine battery last?
Up to 18 hours on the Khumo 2, Yoco says, and all day on iKhokha's machines, iKhokha says.A four-hour block won't flatten either, which is why the battery is rarely what stops a payment.
Which card machine is best for load shedding?
The Yoco Khumo 2 at R699, because its unlimited mobile data is included, so staying online during a power cut costs nothing extra.iKhokha's machines are equally standalone but charge a flat R75 a month for the SIMs, R900 a year, unless you run them on shop Wi-Fi with your router on an inverter.
1 more question
Does a card machine need Wi-Fi?
No. The Yoco Khumo 2 has built-in 4G with unlimited data included, iKhokha's iK Flyer and iK Flyer Lite run on their SIMs at a flat R75 a month or on shop Wi-Fi for free, and WAPPoint's SquarePOS takes a Vodacom or MTN SIM.Confirmed 5 November 2026.
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