What iKhokha does

iKhokha is a South African fintech company founded in 2011 (some sources cite 2012) that provides card payment acceptance and an integrated suite of business management tools targeted at micro-merchants and small-to-medium businesses. Headquartered at 1 Nokwe Avenue, Umhlanga Ridge, Durban, the company builds and sells card machines (iK Flyer, iK Flyer Lite, iK Tap On Phone), online payment products (iK Pay Link, iK Invoice, iK Webstore, iK Pay Gateway, iK Buy Button), business management tooling (iK Dashboard, iK App, iK Debit Card with same-day payouts, iK Accounting powered by stub), and growth services including iK Cash Advance (working capital up to R1 million), iK Prepaid (airtime, electricity, data, and voucher sales), iK POS, and iK Business Cover.

The platform is built on PCI DSS compliant payment processing infrastructure with NFC contactless capability and an API-first architecture that exposes the iK Pay API for developer integrations and native plugins for Wix, WooCommerce, Shopstar, and Savvy. Card scheme coverage spans Visa, Mastercard, American Express, UnionPay International, and Diners Club, processed via aggregation agreements with ABSA Bank and Nedbank as principal parties. Go-to-market is product-led and self-serve through the iKhokha website and mobile app, supplemented by physical retail store locations, a store locator, R500-per-referral word-of-mouth, and ecommerce platform integrations.

The company monetizes primarily through transaction-based fees with volume-tiered custom rates, supplemented by hardware sales, commissions on prepaid distribution, and yield from iK Cash Advance repaid via settlement flows. Pricing is publicly disclosed on the iKhokha website. In August 2025, iKhokha was acquired by Nedbank Group in a R1.65 billion (approximately $93.3 million) cash transaction, delivering a full exit to pre-acquisition investor Apis Partners while iKhokha retained its brand and leadership under Nedbank ownership.

Name

iKhokha

Legal name

iKhokha

Website

https://www.ikhokha.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

iKhokha is a South African fintech providing card machines, online payment gateways, and integrated business management tools for micro-merchants and SMEs. Acquired by Nedbank Group for R1.65 billion in August 2025 while retaining its independent brand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer) (FSAMABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

POS, SoftPOS & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure (FSAGABAO), In-Store Contactless & NFC Acceptance (Tap-to-Pay, EMV Contactless) (FSAMADAF)

Keywords

• Payment processing
• Card machines
• Payment gateway
• Point of sale
• Business funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Durban

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Transaction Fees: Transaction-based revenue model where merchants pay fees per card payment processed. Custom rates available based on transaction volume - higher volume merchants receive lower transaction rates.
2. Card Machine Sales: Hardware sales of card machines (iK Flyer, iK Flyer Lite) and accessories to merchants
3. iK Cash Advance: Business funding advances repaid through future transaction settlements
4. iK Prepaid Commission: Commission earned on sale of airtime, electricity, data and prepaid vouchers through the platform

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

iKhokha is a South African fintech company that provides payment acceptance solutions and business management tools to small and micro merchants. Its core offering includes card machines (iK Flyer and iK Flyer Lite), a contactless tap-to-phone solution (iK Tap On Phone), an online payment gateway (iK Pay Gateway), a point-of-sale system (iK POS), and complementary services such as business funding (iK Cash Advance), accounting software, business insurance, and prepaid products. The platform enables merchants to accept in-person and digital payments, manage inventory and staff, sell online, and access working capital within a single integrated ecosystem.

Product overview

iKhokha is a South African fintech company offering an integrated payment solutions and business tools platform for SMEs and micro-merchants. The product portfolio centers on card machines (iK Flyer, iK Flyer Lite, iK Tap On Phone) and online payment solutions (iK Pay Link, iK Invoice, iK Webstore, iK Pay Gateway, iK Buy Button), complemented by business management tools (iK Dashboard, iK App, iK Debit Card, iK Accounting) and growth services (iK Cash Advance, iK Prepaid, iK POS, iK Business Cover). The platform operates on a freemium model with custom transaction rates based on merchant volume, and processes payments across multiple card schemes including Visa, Mastercard, Amex, UPI, and Diners Club. iKhokha was acquired by Nedbank in August 2025 for R1.65 billion while maintaining its brand independence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• iK Flyer: Flagship card machine device offering speed and style for businesses.
• iK Flyer Lite
• iK Tap On Phone
• iK Dashboard
• iK App
• iK Pay Link
• iK Invoice
• iK Webstore
• iK Pay Gateway
• iK Cash Advance
• iK Accounting
• iK Debit Card
• iK POS
• iK Prepaid
• iK Business Cover

Products and services

• iK Flyer

Quantifiable outcome

• Custom transaction rates reduce costs as merchants grow their transaction volume

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• stubcoreTechnology or IntegrationiKhokha powers stub's iK Accounting product, enabling the AI-native accounting platform to offer integrated payment and accounting solutions to micro-entrepreneurs and informal businesses.
• Capitec BankstrategicTechnology or IntegrationCapitec partnered with stub to integrate digital accounting software with Capitec's banking API. iKhokha indirectly benefits through the broader fintech ecosystem integration.
• YocostrategicTechnology or IntegrationYoco partnership enables independent business owners to access integrated payment solutions, with iKhokha positioned as part of the broader South African fintech ecosystem.
• ABSA BankcoreTechnology or IntegrationiKhokha has entered into aggregation agreements with ABSA Bank enabling the processing of Mastercard, VISA and UPI card transactions under ABSA's principal party status.
• NedbankcoreTechnology or IntegrationUnder aggregation authority granted by Nedbank, Nedbank acts as principal party for Mastercard, VISA and UPI card transactions processed through iKhokha.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Payfast: South African online payment gateway (PayPal-owned) enabling merchants to accept digital payments on websites. Competes directly with iK Pay Gateway and iK Webstore for ecommerce and online payment acceptance in South Africa.
• Adumo (formerly Accartis): South African payment processor and merchant acquirer offering POS terminals and omnichannel payment solutions. Competes with iKhokha across card-present and ecommerce acceptance, and is listed in iKhokha's own terms as an alternative service provider.
• Yoco: South African fintech offering card machines, Tap-on-Phone, online payments and small-business funding to SMEs. Closest direct competitor to iKhokha, with overlapping product suite, target customer (ZAR SMB merchants), and self-serve onboarding model.
• SnapScan: South African QR-based mobile payment solution (acquired by Standard Bank) used by merchants to accept digital payments. Directly competes with iKhokha for in-person payment acceptance among small businesses, though concentrated in QR rather than card machines.
• Peach Payments: Payment gateway operating across multiple African countries, offering online card acceptance, subscriptions, and integrations. Directly comparable to iK Pay Gateway's ecommerce payment-acceptance offering, with broader African geographic reach.

Broad incumbents

• SumUp: Global card-reader and payment-acceptance platform that has expanded into South Africa. Competes with iK Flyer / iK Flyer Lite in the entry-level card-machine category, though SumUp operates a broader international footprint as a European incumbent.
• Block (Square): Global payments and merchant-services company (parent of Square, Cash App). The closest international archetype to iKhokha's integrated SMB toolkit (hardware + payments + lending), serving as a strategic comparable rather than a ZA direct competitor.
• Capitec: South Africa's largest digital retail bank with deep SME relationships and growing merchant-services capabilities. Indirectly competitive with iKhokha for SME banking and embedded payment relationships, and a partner of stub (iK Accounting's accounting layer).
• Stripe: Global online payments infrastructure company. Comparable to iK Pay Gateway / iK Pay API for online payment acceptance and developer-led integration, with global scale iKhokha does not currently have.

Emerging players

• TymeBank: South African digital bank serving mass-market and SME customers; its Retail Capital subsidiary offers merchant working-capital similar to iK Cash Advance. Partially overlaps with iKhokha's SME funding and banking-rail positioning post-Nedbank acquisition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iKhokhaSA
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/ikhokha
• Facebookfacebook.com/iKhokha
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ikhokha
• Instagraminstagram.com/ikhokhasa

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about iKhokha