Prepaid24

What Prepaid24 does

Prepaid24 is a privately held South African online platform, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Mossel Bay (with a second office in Randburg), that facilitates the purchase of prepaid electricity tokens, airtime, mobile data, vouchers, and municipal bill payments. Its core technology is a cloud-based platform integrated with 94%+ of South African municipalities via the Standard Transfer Specification (STS) protocol, enabling the generation and delivery of 20-digit electricity tokens compatible with prepaid meters. The platform supports all five major SA banks (ABSA, Capitec, FNB, Nedbank, Standard Bank) for manual and scheduled EFT payments, and integrates Ozow, PayShap and PayFast as alternative payment rails.

The company serves two distinct customer segments. The primary B2C segment comprises individual South African households buying prepaid electricity, airtime, data and vouchers through the prepaid24.co.za website, a first-of-its-kind WhatsApp Purchase Channel (no app or login required), a SmartFund prepaid wallet, Scheduled/Automatic Purchases, monthly Electricity Breakdown reports, and personalized WhatsApp purchase reminders. The secondary but growing B2B segment comprises infrastructure operators, telecoms tower companies, banks, insurers, property managers, Airbnb hosts and NGOs that manage 50-450+ municipal meters via the Business Services dashboard with bulk Excel uploads, scheduled EFT automation, SmartFund wallet consolidation and VAT invoice generation.

Prepaid24's revenue model is largely pass-through at municipal tariff rates for electricity, with revenue derived from transaction fees on airtime/data/voucher sales and a 4% convenience fee on SmartFund top-ups processed via PayFast credit card. Business Services is monetised through subscription/transaction fees following a first-month-free onboarding. Pricing for individual consumers is pay-as-you-go with no platform fees; the company emphasizes customer service quality (live support 6am-10pm, 365 days a year, concierge onboarding via phone call) and is rated top on HelloPeter and Google Business profiles. The business is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, parent company or institutional investors.

Name

Prepaid24

Legal name

Prepaid24

Website

https://prepaid24.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Prepaid Utility Services

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Prepaid Reload Networks & Distribution (Retail Top-Up) (FSAMANAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gift Card Processing, Issuance Platforms & Aggregators (FSAMANAL), Biller Direct EBPP Platforms (FSAMAJAA)

Keywords

• Prepaid electricity services
• Utility vending platform
• Prepaid airtime data
• Digital voucher marketplace
• Business prepaid payments

Headquarters

HQ city

Randburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Prepaid Electricity Token Sales: Prepaid24 earns revenue by facilitating the purchase of prepaid electricity tokens from South African municipalities. The platform charges the same price as direct municipal purchases, with revenue derived from transaction processing. Users pay for electricity tokens and any applicable payment method fees (e.g., Ozow fees).
2. Airtime & Data Sales: The platform sells prepaid airtime and data for all SA networks at standard rates, generating revenue per transaction.
3. Voucher & Gift Code Sales: Prepaid24 sells vouchers for Netflix, Google Play, DSTV, Uber, retail vouchers (Shoprite, Pick 'n Pay, Makro, etc.), gaming platforms (PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, Roblox), and more. Revenue is earned on the face value of vouchers sold.
4. SmartFund Convenience Fee: A 4% convenience fee is added to all SmartFund top-ups made via PayFast (credit card), which is Prepaid24's primary ancillary revenue stream beyond product margins.
5. Business Services Platform: Enterprise clients (infrastructure operators, property managers, telecoms) pay for bulk prepaid electricity purchases through a dedicated Business Services dashboard. The first month is free; ongoing fees apply per transaction or meter managed. Revenue is derived from transaction fees and potentially platform/subscription fees for high-volume enterprise accounts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Prepaid24 operates a South African online platform that vends prepaid electricity tokens to households and businesses, covering more than 94% of South African municipalities across all nine provinces. The platform also sells mobile airtime, data bundles, and gift/streaming vouchers, and offers a Business Services portal plus corporate API integration for bulk prepaid vending. Customers transact through the website, the first-to-market WhatsApp purchase channel, or the SmartFund prepaid wallet.

Product overview

Prepaid24 is a South African online prepaid electricity platform operating since 2009, serving as a unified platform for household and business prepaid utility management. The core product is prepaid electricity token purchases supporting over 95% of SA municipalities, enhanced by SmartFund (a prepaid wallet for instant transactions), WhatsApp Purchase Channel (first-in-SA messaging-based purchasing), Scheduled Purchases (automated recurring payments), Monthly Electricity Breakdown reports, and Purchase Reminders. For businesses, the Prepaid24 Business Services platform enables bulk meter management for 50+ meters with Excel uploads, centralized SmartFund wallet, and scheduled EFT automation. Additional products include airtime/data for all SA networks, municipal bill payments, Google Play and Netflix vouchers, DSTV payments, and various gaming/retail vouchers available via WhatsApp. The portfolio spans B2C (household consumers) and B2B (infrastructure managers, enterprises) segments with a common infrastructure for payments, token delivery, and reporting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prepaid Electricity (web channel) Web-based prepaid electricity token vending service for South African households, allowing customers to purchase electricity units from supported municipalities online.
• WhatsApp Electricity Purchase Channel WhatsApp-based prepaid electricity purchase channel that lets South African households buy and receive electricity tokens through WhatsApp.
• SmartFund Prepaid Wallet Prepaid wallet within the Prepaid24 platform that lets customers load funds and use them for electricity, airtime, data, and voucher purchases, reducing repeated payment friction.
• Prepaid Airtime and Data Sale of prepaid mobile airtime and data bundles for major South African mobile networks through the Prepaid24 platform.
• Vouchers (Google Play, Netflix, DSTV, etc.) Digital gift and subscription voucher sales for third-party brands such as Google Play, Netflix, and DSTV via the Prepaid24 platform.
• Municipal Bill Payments Service that allows customers to pay municipal account bills (such as rates and water) online through the Prepaid24 platform.
• Business Services / Corporate Prepaid Account Dedicated B2B portal and account that lets South African businesses bulk-purchase prepaid electricity, manage multiple meters, and allocate units across employees or tenants.
• Corporate API Integration Application programming interface that enables business customers and partners to integrate Prepaid24's prepaid electricity vending directly into their own platforms and workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• Manage 50+ municipal meters up to 90% faster — reducing recharge time from 2-4 hours to 10-20 minutes
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration13 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• OzowcoreTechnology or IntegrationOzow is one of South Africa's most trusted payment providers, integrated into Prepaid24's platform as a 'Pay by Bank' option. Ozow enables instant EFT payments for electricity and other prepaid purchases, eliminating inter-banking clearance delays. Used on both the main website and WhatsApp transact channel.
• South African Municipalities (94%+ coverage)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrepaid24 integrates with 94%+ of South African municipalities via the STS (Standard Transfer Specification) protocol to enable online prepaid electricity token purchases. Municipalities covered include all major metros (City of Johannesburg, City of Cape Town, City of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini), secondary cities, and hundreds of rural municipalities. The company acts as a digital intermediary between consumers and municipal billing/electricity systems.
• STS (Standard Transfer Specification) AssociationcoreTechnology or IntegrationPrepaid24 uses the STS protocol — the global standard for prepaid electricity meter communication — to generate and deliver 20-digit token numbers compatible with South African prepaid meters. The STS standard was initiated by Eskom and the STS Association.
• Garden Route HostingminorOthersPrepaid24's website hosting provider, as credited in the website footer.
• SA Banks (ABSA, Capitec, Nedbank, Standard Bank, FNB)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrepaid24 enables scheduled/recurring EFT payments from all five major South African banks. The platform provides detailed step-by-step guides for setting up scheduled payments on each bank's app and online banking platform. Bank account details are provided for each bank for beneficiary registration.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pay@ (Peach Payments): Pay@ is a South African prepaid voucher and bill payment platform integrated across retail networks, comparable to Prepaid24 in distributing prepaid products to consumers and merchants.
• Easypay: Easypay is one of South Africa's leading prepaid electricity, bill payment and voucher platforms, operating as a direct competitor to Prepaid24 across the same consumer and small-business prepaid use cases.
• 1Voucher: 1Voucher is a major South African voucher and prepaid distribution network used by retailers and consumers, directly comparable to Prepaid24's gift card and voucher aggregation offering.

Emerging players

• Mama Money: Mama Money is a South African mobile money and remittance fintech offering prepaid airtime, data and voucher products, overlapping with Prepaid24's mobile top-up and stored-value distribution model.
• Mukuru: Mukuru is a Southern African mobile wallet and remittance platform that distributes prepaid airtime, data and vouchers, comparable to Prepaid24 in serving underbanked SA consumers through digital stored-value rails.

Broad incumbents

• Capitec Bank: Capitec is a large South African retail bank offering direct prepaid electricity, airtime and voucher purchases through its app, competing broadly with Prepaid24 via bundled banking relationships and scale.
• TymeBank: TymeBank is a South African digital bank offering in-app prepaid purchases and voucher products, a broader incumbent that competes with Prepaid24 by embedding prepaid functionality into core banking.
• FNB (First National Bank): FNB is a major South African bank with native prepaid electricity, airtime and bill payment capabilities in its app, competing broadly with Prepaid24's scheduled EFT and meter management features.
• Vodacom (M-Pesa / Vodapay): Vodacom is a major South African mobile operator that distributes its own airtime, data and bill payment services natively, and is a broad incumbent comparable to Prepaid24's telecom top-up and meter management offerings.

Others

• Ozow: Ozow is a South African instant EFT payment provider that powers a significant portion of Prepaid24's payments. As an adjacent fintech infrastructure player, Ozow is a relevant comparable on the payments side even though it does not directly sell prepaid products.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/prepaid24
• Facebookfacebook.com/Prepaid24
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prepaid24
• Instagraminstagram.com/prepaid24.co.za

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Prepaid24