Review
iKhokha Card Machine Review (2026): Worth It?
Our iKhokha review: the transaction fee, the R2.50 payout fee, what iK Prepaid can earn you, and a year's cost against Yoco. Checked September 2026.
Some links here are referral links, and where a provider gives our readers a better price than its own site, that is the price you get by using one. It costs you nothing extra, and every option here is judged on the same test either way.
The iK Flyer Lite on a counter that sells airtime as well as kotas. Selling prepaid is the reason to choose it over a machine with a lower transaction fee.
Commissioned · not yet shotOn the card machine fees alone, iKhokha is not the cheapest machine in South Africa, and it is not trying to be. It starts at 2.75% Excluding VATThe rate before 15% VAT is added, which is how almost every South African provider quotes. A rate of 2.30% excl. VAT actually bills you 2.645%, so two quotes are only comparable once you know which basis each is on.What 2.75% comes to with VAT3.1625% with VAT on it. On R30 000 a month that is R949 rather than R825, so the year this review prices costs R1 488 more than the rate on the page suggests.iKhokha shows its prices excluding VAT and so does Yoco, so the one-year comparison below is already like for like. Take care when you compare either one with a bank's quote, because some banks quote including VAT, and the same rate then looks cheaper on one page than on the other. If your business is VAT-registered, you claim the VAT back and the excluding number is your real cost. If it is not, add 15% to every rate here.See every term in the glossary where Yoco starts at 2.30%, and it charges R2.50 every time it pays you.
But hold that thought for a minute, because there is a twist. There are two kinds of shop where iKhokha works out cheaper than Yoco: the one that takes its money out every day, and the one where customers already ask for airtime and electricity. And it is the company South African merchants rate higher, with a TrustIndex of 8.3 out of 10 on Hello Peter, second in Payments & Fintech, against Yoco's 6.3.
So the two things to work out about iKhokha are who is it for and what iKhokha has to earn you each month before the higher fee stops costing you anything.
Therefore, in this iKhokha review I'll work that number out against your own business and show you when iKhokha comes out cheaper. By the end, the decision makes itself.
Who iKhokha are, and what they are actually selling
iKhokha is a Durban payments company, fourteen years old, over 380 staff, and by its own description one of the fastest-growing fintechs in Africa. It also has over 16,000 five-star reviews on Hello Peter, which is not a thing you accumulate by being cheapest.
Every company in this market will sell you a card machine. iKhokha actually sells convenience at the counter, and the whole product line makes sense once you see it that way.
A card machine gets money from a customer who was already buying. A counter that also sells airtime, electricity, a DStv payment and an OTT voucher gets a person through the door who was not buying anything at all, and then that person is standing in front of your shelves while they pay.
You can see that in the rest of what iKhokha offers. Prepaid brings people into your shop. The support line answers around the clock, so you can get help at 7pm on a Saturday. And there is funding for when you sell faster and need to restock more often.
The verdict, and what it rests on
The scores in this review measure what iKhokha does for your shop as a whole, not only how its card machine compares with another.
Support is where iKhokha wins: it has a phone number on its site and answers it around the clock, which almost no other card machine company does.
Where it loses is in the conditions. Same-day money and prepaid income, the two things iKhokha advertises most, both come with terms you need to know first. I cover both below, in the prepaid income and who qualifies for same-day money.
The range, and which one to buy
Start with the machines. The main thing to decide here is whether you need to hand customers a printed slip.
All three run the same rates and the same iK Prepaid menu. What separates them is the hardware.
Every iKhokha card machine, priced
| iK Tap on Phone | iK Flyer Lite | iK Flyer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | R699 | R1 499 |
| Prints receipts | No | No | Yes |
| Takes | Tap only | Tap and insert | Tap, insert and swipe |
| Prepaid vouchers | No | Sells them | Sells and prints them |
| Connectivity | Your phone's | Wi-Fi, or 2 SIMs at R75/mo | Wi-Fi, or 2 SIMs at R75/mo |
| Downside | Android only, and your phone is the card machine | No printed slip | Twice the price |
Prices and features from iKhokha's own shop pages.← scroll sideways on a narrow screen →
For most shops the iK Flyer Lite at R699 is the one to buy. The iK Flyer is worth its extra R800 only if you hand customers a printed slip, or if you want to print prepaid vouchers rather than reading numbers off a screen.
iK Tap on Phone is a useful free backup rather than a main card machine, and it is Android only.
In terms of card machines, iKhokha has two you can hold. The cheaper one is the iK Flyer Lite: a touchscreen card machine with two SIM slots that takes tap and chip, sends receipts by SMS or email and sells prepaid, now R699, down from R999. The second is the iK Flyer at R1 499, which adds a built-in printer and a swipe reader, so it hands your customer a printed slip and prints the prepaid voucher instead of showing its number on screen. Buy either through us and iKhokha takes 10% off, about R629 for the Lite and R1 349 for the Flyer.
Why most shops should start here
- Sells airtime, data, electricity, water and gas, OTT and Hollywood Bets vouchers, DStv and traffic fines off the same card machine
- A same-day route with no percentage fee, on Nedbank or on the iK Debit Card for sole traders
- 24/7 support by phone, plus WhatsApp
- The rate slides to 2.65% at R40 000, 2.55% at R60 000 and 2.50% at R80 000
Where it falls shortwhat to know first
Where it falls short
- Starts at 2.75% excl. VAT, above Yoco's 2.30% at every turnover
- No printer and no swipe: the customer reads a prepaid voucher off the screen
- R75 a month for its own SIM data unless you run it on Wi-Fi, and R2.50 on every payout
The numbers in fullspecs & terms
- PriceR699, down from R999; about R629 through our link
- MonthlyR75 SIM, or R0 on Wi-Fi
- RateFrom 2.75% excl. VAT
- SettlementNext business day on FNB and Absa, same day on Nedbank; R2.50 a payout
Best for
Spazas, salons, car washes and market stalls where people already ask for airtime, and anyone testing prepaid for the first time.
Who should avoid it
A shop that needs to hand over a printed slip, or one that will never sell prepaid and would only pay the higher fee.
Look at insteadYoco Khumo 2, for the lower rateThe daily-payout sums
Quick verdict
If you are not sure the prepaid demand is there, this is the cheapest way to find out: everything iKhokha offers for R699, and nothing monthly on shop Wi-Fi.
10% comes off automatically at signup, on top of everything iKhokha already includes.
Start with the Lite
Why it is worth the extra R800
- Prints receipts and prepaid voucher slips, so a queue moves faster than reading a number off a screen
- Takes tap, chip and swipe, so an older card is never turned away
- Same rates, same prepaid menu and same 24/7 support as the Lite
Where it falls shortwhat to know first
Where it falls short
- R1 499 takes a long time to earn back in a quiet shop; under about R15 000 a month on card, the printer is the only thing you are paying for
- Starts at 2.75% excl. VAT, above Yoco at every turnover
- R75 a month for SIM data unless you run it on Wi-Fi
The numbers in fullspecs & terms
- PriceR1 499; about R1 349 through our link
- MonthlyR75 SIM, or R0 on Wi-Fi
- RateFrom 2.75%, sliding to 2.50%
- SettlementNext business day on FNB and Absa, same day on Nedbank; R2.50 a payout
Best for
Busy shops and restaurants that print slips all day and sell prepaid just as often.
Who should avoid it
A quiet shop under about R15 000 a month, where the Lite does the same job for R800 less.
Look at insteadYoco Khumo Print 2, head to headThe one-year cost
Quick verdict
Buy it when your customers are asking for receipts, not in case they might.
10% comes off automatically at signup, on top of everything iKhokha already includes.
Need the printed slip?
iKhokha also sells a full till. The iK POS is R7 499, down from R9 999: a point-of-sale system with a built-in printer, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and its own 3G/4G SIM, made to run a product range rather than just take payments. It runs on a monthly package from R660 excluding VAT (R960 for two tills), and iKhokha sells it together with the iK Flyer.
iKhokha iK POS
A full till with a built-in printer, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and its own SIM, for a shop with staff and a product range. R7 499, down from R9 999, plus a monthly package from R660 excl. VAT.
If you run a restaurant, a bottle store or a supermarket with staff and stock, that is the one to look at.
Apart from the hardware, iKhokha also has software and money services that come with the account, and a few of them matter more than the card machine:
iK Pay Link sends a customer a payment link from anywhere, which is how you take a deposit from someone who is not standing in front of you. iK Invoice is a free invoice generator on the dashboard.
iK Pay Gateway takes card payments on a website you built on Wix, WooCommerce or Shopstar, at 2.85% excluding VAT for local cards. And iK Accounting tracks money in and out and links your bank account so it reconciles itself, with a free trial to see whether you would use it.
For a growing shop, iK Cash Advance is the most useful of these. It advances up to R1 million against your card turnover and takes it back as a percentage of daily sales, so you repay more in a busy week and less in a quiet one.
There is no fixed monthly instalment and no compound interest. Offers under R200 000 need no credit check, the money lands within 24 hours, and the size of the offer is set by what you have already sold through the machine.
That last part is a good reason to stay with one company for years rather than switch to save on fees. The advance is based on your sales history, and iKhokha only sees the sales you made through iKhokha.
What it costs over a year
To see what the higher fee means in rands, I have priced a full year for a small shop taking R30 000 a month on card, against the Yoco Khumo 2, which costs the same R699.
Both fees are quoted excluding VAT, so this is like for like; our card machine fees guide explains why that is the first thing to check on any quote.
R360 000 of card turnover across the year, both machines bought once-off, both rates excluding VAT.
One year at R30 000 a month on card
| iKhokha iK Flyer Lite | Yoco Khumo 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| The machine | R699 | R699 |
| Transaction fees for the year | R9 900 at 2.75% | R8 280 at 2.30% |
| SIM data | R900, or R0 on shop Wi-Fi | R0, included |
| Payout fees | About R780, at R2.50 a payout | R0 |
| Year one, all in | About R12 279 | About R8 979 |
| What prepaid can earn back | Commission on airtime, electricity and vouchers | Nothing |
mashjoy.com calculation from each company's own price list. Payout fees assume six trading days a week.
iKhokha costs about R3 300 more over the year, or about R2 400 if you run it on the shop Wi-Fi and skip the SIMs, and that is the full difference between the two.
Whether iKhokha is worth it comes down to your customers, and how much prepaid they buy.
So iKhokha has to earn you about R275 a month before the higher fee stops costing you anything. That is the R3 300 gap divided by twelve.
If you make R275 or more a month in prepaid commission, the higher fee has cost you nothing, and you have a second stream of income on a machine you needed anyway. If you make less, part of that R3 300 comes out of your own pocket.
I cannot tell you how fast you would get there, because iKhokha does not give its commission rate anywhere: not on the iK Prepaid page, and not in any of its help articles.
What you can do is test it against what you already know. If people ask you for airtime ten times a day and you currently send them across the road, you are past R275 long before month end. Our spaza shop guide is written for exactly that kind of shop.
Hold that thought: when iKhokha is the cheaper machine
That R3 300 gap assumes you are happy to wait 1-2 business days for your money.
Not every shop can. If you buy stock every morning, you need yesterday's money in your account today, and that changes the sums. Yoco will pay you the same day, but it charges R17.25 a payout up to R1 000, and 1% above that, on top of its 2.30%. iKhokha's same-day route charges no percentage at all, only its flat R2.50 a payout.
"iKhokha is the more expensive machine" needs a condition attached: it costs more if you can wait, and less if you cannot. Here is what that looks like for a shop that takes its money out every trading day.
Both columns assume the same thing: you take your money out every trading day, about 26 times a month, and run the machine on shop Wi-Fi. Yoco's Instant Payout is R17.25 a payout up to R1 000 and 1% above that, on top of its 2.30%. iKhokha pays the same day, twice a day, with no percentage, and I have charged it the R2.50 fee on both payouts, 52 times a month, which is the worst case for iKhokha.
Drawing your money every day
| Yoco, paying for Instant Payout | iKhokha, same-day on the card | |
|---|---|---|
| A stall taking R5 000 a month | About R564 a month | About R268 a month |
| A shop taking R25 000 a month | About R1 024 a month | About R818 a month |
| A counter taking R40 000 a month | About R1 320 a month | About R1 230 a month |
| What that saves over a year |
|
R3 552 at R5 000, R2 472 at R25 000, R1 080 at R40 000 |
mashjoy.com calculation from each provider's own pages. Yoco 2.30% plus Instant Payout at R17.25 a payout up to R1 000, then 1%; iKhokha 2.75% plus R2.50 a settlement, twice a day. 26 trading days, shop Wi-Fi, all rates excluding VAT.
For a shop that takes its money out every day and runs on Wi-Fi, iKhokha is cheaper at every turnover here, and by the most in the smallest shops, because Yoco's R17.25 a payout is most of a small shop's fee. Add iKhokha's R75 SIMs and Yoco comes out slightly cheaper, by under R65 a month, between about R26 000 and R37 000.
That is the opposite of what the transaction fee on its own suggests, which is why it is a poor way to choose a machine.
That table has one condition: same day means banking with Nedbank, or using the iK Debit Card, which is for sole proprietors only. For a registered company on another bank, the R3 300 gap stands.
But if you are a sole trader who buys stock every day, as many spaza shops, market traders, car washes and food stalls do, iKhokha is the cheaper machine.
iK Prepaid: a second stream of income, and the cash it ties up
iK Prepaid is the reason to buy this brand. The card machine sells airtime and data on all four networks, electricity, water and gas, DStv, Pay@ and Easypay bill payments, traffic fines, and gaming vouchers. iKhokha says over a thousand service providers and municipalities are on it.
Prepaid income is not free income, and the timing matters
You fund it before you earn from it. You top up the prepaid balance yourself, in cash at an Absa ATM or by EFT, so every voucher you sell is paid for with your own money first. And your profit does not arrive with the sale: iKhokha holds it in a pending prepaid balance and releases it into your available balance in the first week of the following month. If your shop runs week to week, that is a real gap in your cash flow, and it is the most important thing to know about iK Prepaid before you start.
Two practical notes. The gaming vouchers are OTT and Hollywood Bets, which matters if your customers ask for betting vouchers. A customer who bets on Betway is covered too: an OTT voucher loads a Betway account, and Betway lists it among its own deposit methods.
And only the iK Flyer prints a voucher. On the Lite you read the number off the screen and the customer writes it down or you send it digitally, which works fine but is slower when there is a queue.
Getting paid, and who qualifies for same-day
iKhokha pays out on the next business day if you bank with FNB or Absa, and twice a day on the same day if you bank with Nedbank. For any other bank its site gives no timeline at all, so do not plan your cash flow around a next-day payout. Either way, iKhokha charges R2.50 for every SettlementWhen the money actually lands in your bank account — not when the payment is approved. The gap is one to three business days depending on provider.What iKhokha charges for itR2.50 a payout, whatever the amount. Take one every trading day and that is about R65 a month, or R780 a year, on top of your transaction fees.Settlement is when the money lands in your account, not when the payment is approved on the machine. iKhokha pays out on the next business day if you bank with FNB or Absa, twice on the same day if you bank with Nedbank, and gives no timeline on its site for any other bank, so if you bank elsewhere, do not count on next-day money. The R2.50 is charged per payout rather than per sale, which means how often you take your money out matters more than how much you sell.See every term in the glossary, whatever the amount.
Getting paid the same day without Nedbank is harder. It runs on the iK Debit Card, into a GoTyme Bank EveryDay accountA free personal transaction account from GoTyme Bank, a South African digital bank. It is not an iKhokha product: you open it yourself in the GoTyme app, then list it on your iKhokha profile as your payout account. It is the only account iKhokha's same-day iK Debit Card pays into. iKhokha also pays Nedbank customers twice a day, the same day, with no GoTyme account involved.Why same-day is narrower than it looksIt is a personal account, so the card route is open to sole proprietors and closed to registered companies. Without it, same day on iKhokha means banking with Nedbank.A free personal transaction account from GoTyme Bank, a South African digital bank. It is not an iKhokha product: you open it yourself in the GoTyme app, then list it on your iKhokha profile as the account the iK Debit Card pays into. Two things come with it. It is personal, which is why registered businesses cannot get the card, though a Nedbank account gets them same-day payouts anyway. And it is a second bank to run alongside the one you already have, which means extra admin, even though the account itself is free.See every term in the glossary you open yourself, and only sole proprietors can get it. If your business is registered and does not bank with Nedbank, same day is not open to you. Our payout-times guide compares when every card machine company pays out.
Do people ask you for airtime, data or vouchers?
Not whether they would, but whether they already do, this week. Count the people you send across the road, and count voucher requests as well as airtime.
If the answer is yes, stop reading and buy it. Yoco's machines do not sell airtime, and the only other machine in this comparison that can is a WAPPoint rental at R299 a month plus a R50 add-on. At R699 once-off, there is very little to compare this against.Who do you bank with?
FNB or Absa, and iKhokha says it pays you the next business day; Nedbank, and it pays twice a day on the same day. Any other bank and iKhokha's site gives no timeline at all.
It is the difference between a payout you can plan stock around and one that arrives when it arrives.Is your business registered?
If it is a registered company, the iK Debit Card is closed to you, and same-day payouts mean banking with Nedbank.
Same-day money is one of iKhokha's main selling points, so check it applies to you before you count on it.Wi-Fi or SIM?
On the shop Wi-Fi the machine costs R0 a month. With the two 4G SIMs it is R75.
R900 a year, and it is the single biggest line in the gap against a machine that includes data free.Which businesses iKhokha suits
The type of business matters less than two things about how you run it: whether people ask you for prepaid, and how often you need your money out.
From our research, iKhokha fits most shops where people wait, or walk in for something small, and it fits a few badly. So rather than make you read six descriptions to find yours, I built a quick tool: tap the business closest to yours, and it tells you whether iKhokha is worth it, which machine to start on, and the one thing to watch.
Interactive · pick your business
Is iKhokha right for the business you run?
Tap the one closest to yours. The answer uses the same sums as the rest of this review.
Strong fit
Customers already ask you for airtime and electricity, you buy stock every day, and as a sole trader you can get the same-day card even if you do not bank with Nedbank. Our spaza shop guide works out the numbers.
- Start with
- iK Flyer Lite, R699 (about R629 through our link)
- Watch for
- You pay for the prepaid balance yourself, and the profit is released the following month.
Good fit
People wait here, and someone waiting may buy airtime, data or a voucher. If you take your money out every day, that is also when iKhokha's payout costs less than Yoco's.
- Start with
- iK Flyer Lite, R699
- Watch for
- It only pays off if clients ask for prepaid. Count the requests for a week before you buy.
Good fit
You need a printed slip and a product range, and you restock often. A bottle store where customers ask for vouchers is close to the ideal iKhokha shop.
- Start with
- iK Flyer at R1 499 for the printed slip; the iK POS at R7 499 plus R660 a month when you need a full till
- Watch for
- The iK POS is a till sold alongside a card machine, and its monthly package only pays off when you have staff and stock to manage.
Good fit
Prepaid can earn you commission, but you pay for the prepaid balance upfront, and money in that balance is money you cannot spend on stock.
- Start with
- iK Flyer Lite, R699, so the amount you test with stays small
- Watch for
- Stock comes first. Top up the prepaid balance only with money you will not need this week.
Probably not
Nobody asks a plumber for airtime, so you would not use prepaid, and Yoco's lower transaction fee wins.
- Look at
Yoco Khumo 2, R699 at 2.30%- Watch for
- If you mostly take deposits from people who are not in front of you, a payment link does that on either account.
Probably not
The same-day card is for sole traders only, so unless you bank with Nedbank you wait for the standard payout and pay about R3 300 a year more than Yoco at R30 000 a month.
- Look at
- Yoco Khumo 2, R699 at 2.30%
- Watch for
- Bank with Nedbank and iKhokha pays you the same day anyway, which changes the sums.
Fit judged on this review's own numbers: prepaid demand, how often you take your money out, and whether your business is registered. Checked 24 September 2026.
Across all six, the answer turns on the same two things. iKhokha pays for itself where customers already ask for prepaid, and where a sole trader takes the money out every day. Where neither is true, the Yoco Khumo 2 is the cheaper machine.
Where iKhokha loses
For some shops, another machine is the better buy.
What works
- A card machine that also earns you commission on prepaid, on hardware you were buying anyway
- 24/7 support by phone, which is rare among card machine companies
- The rate drops as you grow, rather than staying flat
- You own the machine, with no rental and no contract
What does not
- A higher starting rate than Yoco, at 2.75% excl. VAT against 2.30%
- R2.50 on every payout, which stays the same in a quiet month
- R75 a month for SIM data that Yoco includes at no extra cost
- Its same-day card is closed to registered companies, which need a Nedbank account for same day
If you will never sell prepaid, you are paying a higher transaction fee and more per payout for a feature you will not use. Check the daily-payout table first, though, because that gap only holds if you can wait for your money.
In that case, the Yoco Khumo 2 costs the same R699, charges 2.30% excluding VAT, includes its SIM data at no extra cost and takes nothing to pay you out. On the year above it is R3 300 cheaper, and our head-to-head covers the rest of the differences.
So, should you buy iKhokha?
So do not buy iKhokha for the transaction fee, and do not buy it hoping the prepaid income will appear on its own. Buy it for the convenience it creates, and for the shelf sales that follow someone through the door who only came in to buy electricity.
Go in knowing that you pay for the prepaid balance yourself and only get the profit the following month, so make sure your cash flow can carry that first.
Start with the iK Flyer Lite at R699. It is the whole product on the cheapest hardware, and there is no feature you lose except the printed slip. Move up to the iK Flyer at R1 499 when customers start asking for receipts, or to the iK POS at R7 499, plus its R660 monthly package, if you are running staff, stock and a real till rather than a counter.
Still not certain the demand is there? The three questions below are the three that decide the R275: how often people ask you for prepaid, what you take on card, and whether you can keep money tied up in prepaid stock.
Interactive · 30 seconds
Can your shop make R275 a month from prepaid?
Answer for how your shop runs, and the recommendation updates as you go.
1How often does someone at your till ask for airtime, electricity or a voucher?
2What does the shop take on card in a month?
3Could you keep a few thousand rands tied up in prepaid stock?
Before you answer
Buy iKhokha if people already ask you for prepaid
Prepaid is the reason to choose this machine, and it only pays off if people already ask you for it.
The trade-off: 2.75% excl. VAT against Yoco's 2.30%, R2.50 a payout, and you pay for the prepaid balance yourself.
Rates and settlement terms come from each company's own website, checked 24 September 2026. We rank on one-year cost, the same way for every brand, which is why this review recommends Yoco where Yoco is the better answer.
Questions people ask about iKhokha
Costs & fees
How much does an iKhokha card machine cost?
The iK Flyer Lite is R699 once-off, down from R999, and the iK Flyer, which prints receipts, is R1 499.iK Tap on Phone is free and runs on an Android or Huawei handset. You own the machine, with no rental and no monthly fee unless you take the two 4G SIMs at R75 a month. Checked 24 September 2026.
What is iKhokha's transaction fee?
iKhokha starts at 2.75% excluding VAT on in-person local cards and steps down with monthly turnover: 2.65% above R40 000, 2.55% above R60 000, and 2.50% above R80 000, with custom rates over R100 000.Online local cards are 2.85%, instant EFT is 2%, international cards are 3.25% and in-person Amex is 3.4%, all excluding VAT.
Payouts
Does iKhokha pay out the same day?
Yes, twice a day, in one of two ways.Bank with Nedbank, or use the iK Debit Card, which needs a GoTyme Bank EveryDay account you open yourself and sole-proprietor status, so a registered company cannot get the card. Standard payouts land the next business day if you bank with FNB or Absa, and iKhokha's site gives no timeline for other banks. There is a R2.50 fee on every payout.
Day to day
How much commission does iKhokha pay on airtime?
iKhokha confirms that iK Prepaid pays commission, but it does not give the commission rate anywhere, so we cannot quote a figure.What it does say matters as much: you top up the prepaid balance yourself before you can sell, and your profit is held in a pending balance and released in the first week of the following month.
Is iKhokha better than Yoco?
It depends on whether your shop can make money from more than card sales.Yoco has the lower transaction fee, 2.30% excluding VAT against 2.75%, includes SIM data at no extra cost and charges nothing per payout, which comes to about R3 300 less over a year at R30 000 a month. iKhokha wins if iK Prepaid earns you roughly R275 a month, and it has 24/7 phone support.
Is there an iKhokha Mover card machine?
No. The iKhokha Mover appears in a number of articles and comparison pages and has never appeared on iKhokha's own site.As of 24 September 2026 iKhokha sells the iK Flyer Lite, the iK Flyer and iK Tap on Phone as card machines, plus the iK POS as a full point-of-sale.
