Agentic Payments: Shaping the Future of South African Commerce

Mobile wallets, instant EFTs, and digitally savvy merchants, payments in Mzansi are evolving at breakneck speed. Now, agentic payments, AI-driven systems where intelligent agents transact, negotiate, and manage money flows for consumers and businesses, are poised to supercharge this transformation.

What Are Agentic Payments - And Why South Africa?

Agentic payments allow AI “agents” to act for humans, handling everything from shopping to bill payments, instantly managing supplier deals or remittance flows. South Africa’s strong fintech sector, widespread mobile banking adoption, and rising ecommerce penetration make it fertile ground for agentic innovations. Giants like Paystack and Peach Payments, alongside homegrown platforms, are racing to leverage AI for seamless, secure, and personalized payment experiences.

Impact on South African Merchants

For merchants, particularly SMEs, the heartbeat of South Africa’s economy, agentic payments hold game-changing promise:

• Real-Time Payment Automation: No more waiting days for settlements. AI agents instantly reconcile invoices, optimize cash flow, and cut administrative red tape.

• Business Insights and Optimization: With data from agentic payments, merchants gain sharper insights into customer purchase behaviour, can set spending caps, and streamline inventory, helping businesses grow from township shops to national brands.

• Expanded Sales Channels: With AI agents, merchants can effortlessly manage omnichannel commerce and reach customers from Soweto to Sandton and beyond.

Already, South African businesses like Fenn Collection are scaling nationwide by embracing platforms that integrate AI and digital payments, showing how technology can fuel growth and competition.

What Does It Mean for Consumers in SA?

Consumers benefit from:

• Convenience and Personalization: AI agents can shop for deals, pay bills on time, and manage budgets, all in isiZulu, isiXhosa or English, reflecting local needs and language preferences.

• Financial Inclusion: Agentic payments can bridge the gap for the unbanked, making ecommerce and digital trade accessible to rural and township populations.

• Security: With programmable money, agents can set limits, monitor fraud, and respond dynamically to threats, making payments safer.
  

But as with all innovation, new risks emerge. Regulatory readiness around data privacy, fraud monitoring, and consumer protection must keep pace, especially as South Africa deals with sophisticated cyber threats.

Challenges and the Road Ahead

• Cash Still Dominates: Despite digital innovation, 73% of point-of-sale transactions in SA remain cash-based. For agentic payments to become mainstream, digital literacy initiatives and improved digital infrastructure are crucial.

• SME Digital Transformation: Many businesses are still transitioning to digital payments. Support, education, and regulatory clarity will be key to broad agentic adoption.

• Regulation and Trust: AI agents are only as good as the systems that regulate and monitor them. South African regulators will need to balance innovation with robust consumer safeguards.
  

Looking forward

South Africa stands at the threshold of a new payment era. Agentic payments offer merchants and consumers faster, smarter, and more inclusive commerce, while also strengthening the backbone of the national economy - its SMEs and everyday entrepreneurs. As the FINASA community continues to champion fintech advancement, agentic commerce will play a central role in building a future that’s both tech-driven and people-centric.