Merchant decision question
A merchant selling into South Africa wants to decide whether to start discovery with a payments infrastructure PSP/orchestration route or a pay-by-bank and local bank-payment specialist before contacting sales.
When Stitch may fit
Prioritize for discovery when the merchant needs to validate a broader South Africa payment stack, including cards, pay-by-bank, manual EFT, debit order, local payment methods, payouts, and reconciliation across multiple flows.
When Ozow may fit
Prioritize for discovery when the merchant's main uncertainty is whether a South Africa bank-payment route can support checkout, payment requests, QR, refunds, payouts, or bank-linked customer journeys.
What to verify before integration
- Which payment methods are available for the exact merchant category and customer journey: card, pay-by-bank, Capitec Pay, manual EFT, debit order, BNPL, QR, payouts, or refunds?
- Does the provider act as the merchant-facing PSP, a technical gateway, a bank-payment method provider, or an orchestrator that still requires separate acquiring or bank relationships?
- What merchant documents, website readiness checks, South Africa bank-account needs, and risk review steps must be completed before go-live?
- Who owns refunds, chargebacks or disputes, failed-payment follow-up, reconciliation exports, webhooks, and production support after launch?
- Can the provider confirm the correct official contact route for commercial onboarding rather than a consumer support path?
Commercial verification note
Use official provider pages or a written provider response to confirm commercial terms, payout handling, refunds, disputes, account setup, and support ownership for the exact merchant case.
Do not treat country coverage or brand support as proof that a specific merchant entity, industry, payout currency, or operational workflow is available.
Public sources to verify
Review notes
- No rates, settlement timing, approval, or eligibility claims are made.
- Do not infer that either provider alone covers every South Africa payment need; confirm the exact product bundle and contractual route.
- Do not assume foreign merchant onboarding, local entity requirements, or South Africa bank-account requirements without written confirmation from the provider.
Questions merchants ask
Should we choose Stitch or Ozow in South Africa?
Use the comparison to prepare verification questions. The answer depends on customer behavior, merchant entity, industry, provider route, risk review, commercial terms, payout handling, refunds, disputes, and support.
Does this page confirm merchant eligibility?
No. Merchant eligibility must be confirmed with the PSP, acquirer, wallet operator, bank, scheme, or platform route before integration.
Are commercial terms confirmed here?
No. Confirm commercial terms, payout handling, refund handling, dispute ownership, and support commitments with the provider before launch.