Top 5+ trusted POS devices in South Africa

Despite the South African online buying preference being lower than the global average at only 48% of all shoppers, this trend is expected to end in 2023, with a projected 30% market increase this year. For its strengths in the eCommerce market, South Africa lags behind in adopting new technology to improve customer shopping experience. Most noticeably, limited payment methods continue to be a weakness for South African retailers. While over 60% of South African eCommerce customers prefer to use card or payment methods while shopping online, only a fraction of retailers have a POS system offering flexibility and comfort in payment processing.

Discovering the best POS devices in South Africa for your business is time-consuming. In this article, we break down 5 of the best POS devices in South Africa right now based on features, accessibility, and pricing.

What are POS Devices?

A Point-of-Sale (POS) device is software that conducts customer payment via different methods. POS devices are required for conducting eCommerce business because it is the only way for buyers to pay for purchased items. For most use cases, POS devices are connected to your store and can record orders, inventory, and customer information with each transaction. Some POS devices can be implemented on devices like phones, tablets, and monitors.

In South Africa, most eCommerce customers prefer to pay with methods other than cash for online purchases. Therefore, vendors in South Africa must be mindful of their chosen POS system to satisfy their customer’s preferred payment methods. Currently, some of the most common online payment methods in South Africa include Bank transfers, Paypal, Credit cards, Prepaid cards, and Digital Wallets.

Challenges POS Devices Need to Solve in South African eCommerce Market

The South African online retail market faces many challenges with online payment. While over 70% of South Africans own a phone and conduct online transactions daily, there are still many competing payment methods that a retailer need to provide. An online POS system will need to adapt quickly to South Africa’s rising economy and technological development.

Here are some tough challenges of the South African online shopping industry that a Point-of-sales (POS) system needs to address:

• Poor Customer Service: Only 68% of businesses in South Africa prioritize customer service in 2022, an alarming trend if you want to build a reputable eCommerce brand. Your Point-of-sale system can create intimacy and develop customer loyalty with the right features, or it can create an unsatisfied customer.
• Offline Mode Capabilities: After a record year of power outages, South African online retailers with a physical store will want to consider a POS system with offline mode functionality, allowing for more accessible implementation during times with no power.
• Omnichannel Support: 98% of customers will return to your business if there is consistency in service across multiple sales channels. Choosing a smart POS system with omnichannel support will allow your business to provide excellent customer experience anywhere.

ConnectPOS

ConnectPOS is one of the best POS systems in South Africa and worldwide. ConnectPOS offers many features to help your business improve its checkout process. The software can run on any device as to save costs on buying new and maintaining hardware. It integrates with multiple worldwide payment solution suppliers, such as Flutterwave and Paystack to ensure you get payments as fast and securely as possible.

Main Features

• Customizable Payment Methods: ConnectPOS is deployed globally by retailers, so it is adaptable to any region’s unique payment methods through customizable software.
• PWA Consumer App: Self-checkout is available with many POS software, but only ConnectPOS offers a consumer-facing app designed for comfort and convenience. With features like personalized checkout, offline payment, and remote sync, consumers can experience the same level of excellent service in all your sales channels.
• Real-time Synchronization: ConnectPOS is among the few POS devices that can readily integrate with any CRM, IMS, or OMS with real-time syncs, perfect for South African businesses running third-party software or hosting on multiple eCommerce platforms.

Yoco

2015 saw the company’s introduction of a mobile card acceptance offering with a reasonably priced pay-per-use (PPU) transaction-based model. As they do not charge fixed rental fees by month, businesses that could not afford conventional card terminals in the past see it as a good bet. Also, Yoco App allows you to operate your stores from your smartphone. It is easy to check and monitor the sales history of your business in the online business portal.

Main Features

• Payment Method Localization: Founded in South Africa, Yoco supports many local payment gateways straight out of the box. This means your store spends less time thinking about optimizing checkout and more time conducting sales.
• Yoco Portal: This software is your one true stop for order management, reducing the need for a dedicated OMS system.

Wappoint

You can buy Wappoint POS outright. Else, rely on its rental option. One of its best features is the ultimate online reporting tool. With this POS, you can access insightful CSV reporting, such as transactional history. It also assists you in accepting eCommerce card payments.

Main Features

• Android APK: WAPPoint is available as a freemium app for your Android device. Phones nowadays can support NFC and wireless payments, making this software extremely easy to use with no special hardware required.
• Barcode checker: The outstanding barcode feature in Wappoint POS helps retailers track sales by tapping the product button or scanning product barcodes. 
• Checkout screen: The POS screen allows both staff and customers to manage the checkout process properly.

iKhokha

One of the best POS devices in South Africa, Ikhokha’s POS and inventory control system helps with keeping your stores’ inventory, HR, and suppliers in check. Also, it enables automatic backups 3 times daily.

Main Features

• POS Bundle: The folks at Ikhokha have a unique POS offer that combines hardware and software into one package. The hardware offered in this bundle is highly advanced and compatible with payment gateways popular in South Africa. So, if you are looking for a deal that includes POS Hardware, take a look at what they have in store!

InTouch POS

It is among the most reliable POS devices in South Africa as well. Its products are hardware and software. The setup and training are likewise accessible. For companies who capitalize on the mPOS, they can leverage Android tablets and stuff, or current Mac or PC, and the point of sale can also run offline.

Main Features

• Restaurant Management: InTouch POS has been the go-to solution for restaurant management since 2009. It focuses on providing excellent software to manage restaurant orders, inventory, and tables with built-in integration for InTouch POS for deliveries also.

Clover

A big perk of Clover hardware is how simple it is to install and start running. Even better, all the things synchronize smoothly with the Clover dashboard. It is safe to state that Clover is an ultimate point-of-sale solution that enables business owners to take care of their business from anywhere. Feel free to make use of the Clover Go app for various purposes, for example, order creation, payment acceptance, and receipt texting to customers.

Main Features

• Compatibility for Small Businesses: If you are looking for a POS solution that offers a well-rounded feature set and won’t break the bank, Clover POS is built to enhance checkout for small businesses.

Choosing The Best POS Device for Your South African Business

In conclusion, for those wondering which POS devices in South Africa are reliable, this list of the top 5+ trusted POS devices in South Africa is a great place to start. To really understand how a POS device can instantly improve your South African online business with measurable results, we recommend taking the ConnectPOS 14-day trial to the test.