What it does
Stitch combines online collection, in-person payments, payouts and payment reporting for South African businesses. Its Express service gives smaller ecommerce and retail businesses a route onto the platform through plugins and point-of-sale connections. Merchant verification is required, and real transactions carry processing fees.
Express is the route for a Shopify or WooCommerce store that wants a ready-made connection. Create an account with your name and contact details, describe the business and what it sells, and submit the documents requested for its type and industry. After verification, install the relevant plugin and configure the checkout. Larger businesses can discuss the enterprise platform, which connects payment activity with reconciliation and reporting.
Express transaction charges
The standard South African rates exclude VAT:
| Route | Processing fee |
|---|---|
| Online local cards | 2.95% |
| Online international cards | 3.4% |
| Capitec Pay | 2% |
| Pay Later, Split option | 5.7% |
| In-person local debit and credit cards | 2.5% |
| In-person international cards | 2.8% |
Businesses processing more than R200,000 monthly can request custom Express pricing. Confirm the particular checkout's currency setup before enabling international sales.
Once sales begin, distinguish Current Balance from Available Balance. The first includes unsettled sales; the second is ready to withdraw after fees. Choose a manual withdrawal or set its frequency and standard or instant method in the dashboard. Standard withdrawal costs R2.30 including VAT and takes one to two business days. Instant withdrawal costs R11.50 including VAT and ordinarily arrives within minutes. Large out-of-hours transfers may wait for a banking window.
The settlement timetable also affects availability: sales before 20:00 normally reach the available balance by 11:00 the following day, with separate weekend and public-holiday handling. An order marked paid therefore does not mean its proceeds are already withdrawable.
Strengths
- Express supports full or partial refunds from the ecommerce platform
- Enterprise fraud controls allow custom transaction-screening rules
Watch out for
- Instant withdrawals on Sundays or public holidays wait for the next business day
Best for
- South African stores using Shopify or WooCommerce
- Retailers connecting online and in-person collections
- Enterprise finance teams reconciling several payment channels
Sources
- Stitch payment operations and enterprise fraud controls (Oct 27, 2026)
- Stitch Express plugins, merchant verification and refunds (Oct 27, 2026)
- Stitch Express online and in-person processing prices (Oct 27, 2026)
- Stitch Express balances and withdrawal controls (Oct 27, 2026)
- Stitch Express international-payment currency guidance (Oct 27, 2026)