Ozow

Ozow is a South African payment processing platform for merchants that need to accept digital payments, issue refunds, and make payouts using bank-to-bank and alternative payment methods.

Key capabilities include:

• Pay by Bank (EFT) for fast, cardless bank-to-bank payments, designed to connect businesses to 47 million bank account holders in South Africa.
• Payment method orchestration across card payments, PayShap Request (instant payment requests using a ShapID or account number), crypto payments (settled in ZAR), and voucher redemption for broader customer access.
• Multiple acceptance channels for different commerce flows, including e-commerce checkout, QR code payments, payment links, e-billing, and in-store payments.
• Merchant operations tools such as customer refunds and payouts that support customer withdrawals in minutes.

Available on Web (merchant dashboard and integrations), API (Bank API and payment integrations), and Android/iOS via the Ozow.ME app for peer-to-peer payments.

Target users include South African businesses of all sizes (online retailers, service businesses, platforms, and in-store merchants) that serve individual consumers paying from their bank accounts, including peer-to-peer use cases through Ozow.ME.

Ozow is notable in South Africa for its focus on Pay by Bank and instant payment rails such as PayShap, plus bank-partnered options like Capitec Pay, Nedbank Direct EFT, and Absa Pay, supporting cardless payments across common checkout and in-store scenarios.