Payment methods
Vouchers
A payment voucher turns cash into an online payment: the customer buys a voucher with cash at a retail till, then redeems its PIN at your checkout. It is how millions of cash-first South Africans buy online - no card and no bank account required. LekkaPay accepts 1Voucher and OTT today, with additional voucher networks onboarding.
LAST UPDATED ·
- of South African adults remain un- or under-banked and transact mainly in cash
- Millions
- South African financial inclusion research, 2024
How it works
How does Vouchers work with LekkaPay?
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Customer buys a voucher with cash at a retail till
Vouchers are sold countrywide - at supermarkets, spaza shops, fuel stations and informal traders.
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They choose vouchers at your checkout and enter the PIN
No card details, no bank login - just the PIN printed on the voucher slip.
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LekkaPay verifies the PIN with the voucher network in real time
The voucher's value is confirmed and redeemed against the purchase immediately.
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You get instant confirmation of a prepaid payment
The money was paid in cash before checkout, so there is no decline risk and nothing to charge back.
How do prepaid voucher payments work in South Africa?
South Africa has built an entire payment category on a simple idea: let people pay cash at a till they already visit, and spend that value online. The major voucher networks - 1Voucher, OTT, BluVoucher and Kazang - sell prepaid vouchers through supermarkets, fuel stations, spaza shops and informal traders across the country. The customer pays cash, receives a printed PIN, and enters that PIN at an online checkout to complete a purchase. The value is verified with the issuing network in real time, so the merchant gets a confirmed, fully prepaid payment.
Why do vouchers matter for merchants?
Because a meaningful part of your market cannot pay you any other way. Financial inclusion research consistently shows that millions of South African adults remain un- or under-banked and transact mainly in cash - customers that card-only checkouts silently turn away. Vouchers bring those customers into e-commerce on their own terms: cash in at the till, PIN in at the checkout. If you sell airtime-adjacent products, gaming, entertainment, transport or everyday goods, a voucher option is often the difference between serving your whole market and serving the banked slice of it.
Which voucher networks does LekkaPay accept?
LekkaPay accepts 1Voucher and OTT today, with additional voucher networks onboarding. We built the voucher capability as a category, not a one-off connection, so new networks are added to the same integration you already run - no rework on your side when coverage expands. Need a specific voucher network for your customers? Talk to us and we will confirm where it sits on the onboarding roadmap.
What do merchants gain from voucher payments?
Three things, and each is structural. Reach: vouchers unlock the cash economy, a customer segment no card, wallet or EFT method touches. Finality: every voucher payment is prepaid cash, so there are no declines at the point of purchase and no chargebacks after it - disputes and fraud simply have no card rail to travel on. Simplicity: no card data is collected, which keeps your compliance surface small, and redemption confirms in real time, so fulfilment works exactly as it does for any other LekkaPay payment method.
FAQ
Vouchers questions, answered.
What is a payment voucher?
A payment voucher is a prepaid PIN bought with cash at a retail till and redeemed online. The customer hands over cash at a supermarket, spaza shop or fuel station, receives a printed PIN, and enters that PIN at your checkout to pay - no card or bank account involved.
Which vouchers can my customers use?
LekkaPay accepts 1Voucher and OTT today, with additional voucher networks onboarding. The South African voucher category also includes networks such as BluVoucher and Kazang - if a specific network matters to your customers, talk to us and we will confirm where it sits on our onboarding roadmap.
Can voucher payments be charged back?
No. A voucher is prepaid with cash before your customer ever reaches checkout, and redemption is verified with the voucher network in real time. There is no card scheme involved and therefore no chargeback mechanism - refunds, where you choose to give them, stay entirely under your control.
Who pays with vouchers?
Cash-first customers: people who are un- or under-banked, people without cards they are willing to use online, and people who simply prefer to budget in cash. For many South Africans a voucher is not an alternative payment method - it is the only way they can buy from you at all.
What if my customers use a different voucher brand?
Talk to us. We accept 1Voucher and OTT today and additional voucher networks are onboarding, so tell us which brands your customers hold and we will map that against our roadmap - merchant demand directly shapes which networks come next.
Method mix
Pairs well with Vouchers
Add Vouchers to your checkout.
Every way Africa pays, on one integration - add methods without new development.