3 Cheapest Card Machines in South Africa (2026)

If you're looking for the cheapest card machine, you most likely want to start taking cards without a big bill, and you can. In South Africa you can put a card machine on your counter for R200, or own one for R699 once, with nothing to pay monthly.

But "cheapest" means three different things, and each has a different answer: cheapest to get, cheapest per sale, and cheapest over a year. So I'll show you all three, then what a year actually costs, and you can pick the one that matches how your shop runs.

Cheapest to get started: WAPPoint, at R200

If you want a machine on the counter and R699 is what's standing in your way, rent a WAPPoint.

You pay R200 to set up and then a monthly rental, and the rental stops in any month your card sales pass R15 000 on card. Clear it and the machine costs you nothing but its R50 insurance.

WAPPoint is usually described as rental-only, and it isn't. You can rent it, have the rental waived on turnover, or buy the SquarePOS RX for R3 199 excluding VAT, which is a lot more than R699.

The low entry price hides one cost. WAPPoint starts at 2.75% excluding VATExcluding 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 the cheapest rate really billsYoco's 2.30% bills 2.645%. On R20 000 a month that is R529 rather than R460, so about R828 a year sits between the rate you compare and the rate you pay.Read the full definition, above Yoco's 2.30% and iKhokha's 2.10%. Below R15 000 a month you're paying R189 rental plus R50 insurance every month, which is R2 868 a year for a machine you could have bought once for R699.

So this is the cheapest way in and one of the more expensive ways to stay, which our WAPPoint review prices out threshold by threshold. That's fine, as long as it's a decision rather than a surprise.

WAPPoint SquarePOS RX

Accepts

• Tap only
• Visa
• Mastercard
• SASSA
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• Snap & Pay QR

✓ Price last confirmed on 5 November 2026

Who it's for

For a business that's trading properly and can't put R699 down this month. You pay to set up rather than to buy, and the rental stops in any month your card sales pass R15 000.

• RentalR189 a month, waived in any month you turn over more than R15 000
• Transaction feeFrom 2.75% excluding VAT — the more expensive way to stay

R200to set up · rented, not owned

What Wappoint POS gives everyone

• The rental falls away in any month you clear the machine's threshold: R15 000 on SquarePOS RX, R25 000 on MiniPOS, R45 000 on PrintPOS
• Switch to a different machine as the business changes

Confirmed on 4 November 2026

See WAPPoint's machines WAPPoint review

you'll go to wappoint.co.za

Cheapest to own: the Yoco Khumo 2

This is the one most people should buy, and the reasoning is simple.

R699 once, down from R1 299. Nothing monthly on Yoco's Core plan. 2.30% excluding VAT on local cards, and it drops to 1.35% on local debit once you pass R50 000 a month. Unlimited mobile data is included, and Yoco charges nothing at all to pay you.

There's no settlement fee, no monthly minimum and no contract, so a month with no card sales costs you nothing.

Yoco sells paid plans too, and this is where "cheapest" gets tested. Yoco's Core planCore (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.What the free plan includesR0 a month, the 2.30% rate, the data, the POS app, and access to Yoco Capital. The paid plans buy a lower rate, not a working machine.Read the full definition is free. Yoco's Plus planPlus (Yoco's plan)Yoco's middle plan at R249 a month per location. It is the tier that carries appointment management, a built-in loyalty programme and multi-location management, and it lowers the card rate to 2.10% excluding VAT on local debit up to R50,000 a month. Nothing on Core is taken away to make it; Plus adds. The plan above it is Pro at R499 a month. Yoco's pricing page lists free fast payouts on Pro, while its Instant Payout page charges 1% on Pro. Check with Yoco which applies before you choose Pro for that reason.Does the cheaper rate pay for the plan?At R30 000 a month on card, Yoco's Plus plan saves about R60 in fees and costs R249. Up to R50 000 a month the most it can save is R100, which is why Core is the cheap answer for most counters.Read the full definition is R249 a month and takes local debit to 2.10%; Pro is R499 and takes it to 1.95%, with fast payouts thrown in.

Run the sums before anyone talks you up a tier. On R30 000 a month, moving from Yoco's Core plan to its Plus plan saves you about R60 in fees and costs you R249 for the plan, and up to R50 000 a month the saving never passes R100. Below that the free plan is the cheap one, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling the loyalty features, not the price.

Yoco Khumo 2

Accepts

• Tap, chip & swipe
• Visa
• Mastercard
• Amex
• SASSA
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay
• Samsung Pay

✓ Price last confirmed on 5 November 2026

Who it's for

The one most counters should buy. The lowest listed fee you can get without moving banks, nothing monthly, and a month with no sales costs you nothing at all.

• Transaction fee2.30% excluding VAT on local cards, on the free Core plan
• MonthlyR0, with unlimited mobile data included

R699Yoco's price today R599your price R100 off

What you get with the extra Yoco discount

• R100 off your card machine, which Yoco takes off when you sign up with the discount link here

And everything Yoco gives everyone

• Sign up in 5 minutes, and it works with the bank account you already have
• Paid out in 1 to 2 business days into that same account
• A 1-year warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee

Confirmed on 4 November 2026

See it at Yoco Yoco review

you'll go to www.yoco.com's sign-up page with your extra R100 discount applied

What the Yoco Khumo 2 works withPOS software and accounting

What Yoco works withConfirmed 7 Oct 2026

• POS software

  On any Yoco plan

  • LightspeedConnected
  • LoyverseConnected
  • TallOrderConnected
  • SalonBridgeComing soon

• Accounting

  Needs the Plus plan, R249 a month

  • XeroConnected
  • SageConnected
  • QuickBooksConnected
  • StubConnected

Cheapest if you sell prepaid: the iKhokha iK Flyer Lite

The iK Flyer Lite is the same R699 as the Khumo 2, down from R999, and nothing is billed monthly unless you want its two SIMs at R75. It costs less per sale, at 2.10% excluding VAT, but iKhokha takes R2.50 every time it pays you.

What it adds is prepaid. It sells airtime, data, electricity and vouchers for a commission, so a counter that already gets asked for them can cover those payouts on the same machine.

iKhokha iK Flyer Lite

Accepts

• Tap & chip
• Visa
• Mastercard
• Amex
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay

✓ Price last confirmed on 5 November 2026

Who it's for

The same R699 as the Khumo 2, and it sells airtime, electricity and vouchers for a commission that can cover its payouts.

• Transaction fee2.10% excluding VAT, or 1.85% on Nedbank
• MonthlyR0; R75 for the two SIMs if you want them

R699on sale from R999 R629your price 10% off

What iKhokha gives everyone

• Unlimited digital invoices, free, from the iK Invoice tool
• Same-day payouts, twice a day, on Nedbank or the iK Debit Card for sole traders, at R2.50 a day

Confirmed on 4 November 2026

See it at iKhokha iKhokha review

you'll go to www.ikhokha.com's sign-up page with your extra 10% discount applied

Buy it if people at your till already ask for airtime or electricity. If nobody does, the Khumo 2 costs less every month.

What a year costs

Sticker price is one payment. The fee is every payment for as long as you're in business, so here's the whole year on a counter turning over R20 000 a month, which is a real small shop rather than a flattering example.

The cheapest way in finishes last, because 0.45 of a percentage point on R240 000 of turnover is R1 080, and a R200 setup doesn't catch that up. The iK Flyer Lite comes close, about R300 behind on shop Wi-Fi, before any prepaid commission. Our fees guide explains where that 0.45 of a point actually goes.

Below WAPPoint's R15 000 threshold it moves the other way: the rental and insurance add R2 868 a year, so a small counter is better off saving up for the Khumo 2.

Hold that thought: the cheapest machine can cost the most

Everything above assumes two things about you, and if either is wrong the order moves.

The first is that you can wait one to two business days for your money. If you buy stock every morning you can't, and pulling your money forward costs real money.

Yoco charges 1.5% for an Instant Payout on its free Core plan, with a minimum of R17.25. iKhokha's same-day route has no percentage but is limited to Nedbank customers and sole traders on its free iK Debit Card, at R2.50 a payout. For a counter drawing money daily, that can outweigh everything in the table above.

The second is that the machine only takes card payments. Where people already buy airtime from you, the iK Flyer Lite's commission can clear the fee difference, which we work out properly in the iKhokha review.

Where cheap stops being cheap

Four costs sit outside the headline number, and every one of them has turned somebody's bargain into an expensive year. Two of them are about settlementSettlementWhen the money actually lands in your bank account — not when the payment is approved. The gap is one to three business days depending on provider.What it costs on the cheap machinesNothing on Yoco and nothing on WAPPoint. R2.50 a payout on iKhokha, which is about R65 a month if you draw every trading day.Read the full definition, which is the part of a card machine nobody compares and everybody pays for.

There's a fifth that isn't a fee at all, and it's the one I'd watch hardest.

Adumo doesn't list a fee anywhere. That isn't automatically bad, and a quote on your real turnover can beat a price list. But you can't call a machine cheap until somebody has given you the number, so treat "we will quote you" as a step in the process rather than an answer. Ask Adumo for your number here and we follow it up for you.

The same goes for any bank offering a merchant fee that looks lower on paper. It usually arrives attached to a business account with its own monthly fee and minimum balance, which is a cost you would not otherwise be carrying.

So which one is cheapest for you

There's no single cheapest card machine. There's a cheapest one for the way your shop runs, and by now you know which of the three you are.

If you can't put R699 down this month but your business is already running, like a new salon, a food stall, a car wash or a mobile mechanic, rent the WAPPoint for R200 to set up. Watch the threshold, and move once you can afford to own the machine instead. If you're still unsure between Yoco and iKhokha, my head-to-head shows how they compare.

Everyone else, from hair salons and coffee shops to market stalls and plumbers, should get the Yoco Khumo 2 at R699. Nothing monthly, nothing to be paid out, and over a year at R20 000 a month it's about R1 180 cheaper than the cheapest way in.

And if your counter fields airtime requests all day, as spaza shops, tuck shops and taxi rank stalls do, stop reading the rate card. The iK Flyer Lite is the same R699 and it earns money back, which no difference in transaction fees can match.

Then put your own shop into the questions below: your card sales in a month, whether people ask you for airtime, and how soon you need the money.

Interactive · 30 seconds

Which cheap is your cheap?

Answer for how your shop actually runs, and the recommendation updates as you go.

1What are your card sales in a month?

Under R15 000R15 000 or more

2Do people at your till ask for airtime, electricity or vouchers?

Yes, regularlyNo, just card payments

3Can you put R699 down this month?

YesNo, but I'm trading properly

Before you answer

The Yoco Khumo 2, for most people who ask this question

R699 once, 2.30% excluding VAT, nothing monthly and nothing charged to pay you. Over a year it beats both the cheapest way in and the iK Flyer Lite.

The trade-off: it earns you nothing on airtime, and pulling your money forward early costs a percentage.

Get the Yoco Khumo 2 → Look at iKhokha → See WAPPoint's rentals →

Rates and prices last confirmed on 5 November 2026. We rank on one-year cost, the same way for every brand.

Questions people ask about cheap card machines