PayShap cannot be treated as automatically cheaper or more expensive than another payment method without checking the bank and transaction value first.
South Africans making instant payments through PayShap should check their bank’s current limits and charges before confirming a transaction, as the R3 000 limit associated with the service’s early rollout no longer applies to the payment system overall. BankservAfrica increased the upper PayShap transaction limit from R3 000 to R50 000 in October 2024, while leaving participating banks to determine what limits and pricing would apply to customers.
TechCentral reported on the increase following confirmation from BankservAfrica chief executive Stephen Linnell.
Nkosinathi Ndlovu
Individual bank limits continue to differ in 2026. Nedbank’s PayShap information indicates that customers can make a PayShap payment of up to R50 000 at a time, subject to a R50 000 daily total, while Absa permits up to R3 000 per transaction through its banking app or online banking and up to R2 000 through cellphone banking. Absa also indicates that individual account or profile limits apply, which means the R50 000 system maximum should not be treated as a universal customer limit.
Charges differ in much the same way. Standard Bank’s 2026 pricing quotes R2 for sending money through PayShap to a ShapID, compared with immediate-payment charges of R2 for amounts below R100, R7 from R100 to R1 999.99 and R50 from R2 000. Capitec’s 2026 fee schedule charges R2 for a PayShap payment to another South African bank, while an immediate payment to another local bank costs R6 and a standard interbank payment costs R2.
GoTyme Bank
Pricing can differ substantially at another bank. GoTyme Bank says instant PayShap payments of up to R5 000 are free, with a R7 fee for amounts above R5 000 and up to R50 000, while its standard non-instant payment option is free and permits higher payment amounts. The figures show why PayShap cannot be treated as automatically cheaper or more expensive than another payment method without checking the bank and transaction value first.
Older advice based on splitting payments around a R3 000 PayShap limit is therefore no longer reliable as a general rule. Customers can compare the PayShap charge, immediate-payment charge and standard electronic payment fee shown by their bank before authorising a transfer, particularly where the amount falls into a higher fee bracket. Current bank pricing and customer-specific transaction limits provide a more accurate basis for the decision than historic PayShap limits or fees.
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