Say goodbye to card machines in South Africa as you know them 

FNB has unveiled its new Speedpoint devices, which are set to fundamentally change how card machines operate in South Africa. 

These devices allow a merchant to integrate their sales and stock systems in real time, effectively combining point-of-sales software with a card machine. 

Specifically targeting small businesses, this enables operators to have their entire business on a terminal device, reducing the need for multiple layers of software or manual stock tracking. 

The revamp of FNB’s Speedpoint offering comes as business banking competition heats up in South Africa, particularly within the arena of small businesses and spaza shops. 

Nedbank has recently restructured its operations to elevate business banking to its own cluster, with its own managing executive, Andiswa Bata, who was poached from FNB after being in their business banking segment for seven years. 

Other banking giants, such as Standard Bank, have sought to clean up their business banking book and are now on the front foot. The Big Blue has invested over R1 billion in overhauling its digital business banking offering. 

This is partly driven by the entrance of Capitec into the business banking market, with the emerging lender’s offering proving highly attractive. 

Other entrants into this market, particularly at the lower level, are also steadily eroding the proposition offered by banks, forcing them to make changes. 

These entrants include Yoco and iKhoka, which is now owned by Nedbank, and many others that seek to unify point of sale devices with accounting software and stock-tracking capabilities. 

However, banks have a notable edge over these competitors in that they are able to clear payments more efficiently and can provide a complete service. 

Banks are able to handle the needs of businesses from point of sale devices through to lending, while also being able to bank business owners personally. 

This proposition has proven to be successful amongst larger, more sophisticated businesses that require these services. 

However, among small business owners, such as spaza shop operators, the primary need that must be fulfilled is a point of sale device with stock tracking capabilities. 

FNB’s revamp

To this end, FNB has made substantial changes to its Speedpoint offering, with a specific focus on small business owners and spaza shop operators. 

“Across the country, business owners operate in two worlds at once: the future they are trying to build and the resource-constrained present they must navigate,” FNB Business CEO Ghana Msibi said. 

“While much of the banking industry focuses on what comes next, FNB’s priority is the present, supporting businesses where they are today and using that as the foundation for future growth.”

FNB explained that, as payment behaviour evolves, how businesses get paid has become increasingly important to competitiveness and financial inclusion. 

South Africa’s oldest bank has played a long‑standing role in alternative payment methods, including eWallet, and continues to invest in payment capabilities used by both consumers and businesses.

These form the basis of the changes made to the Speedpoint offering, with a focus on certainty, simplicity, predictable settlement and tools that support day-to-day operations. 

As part of these changes, the bank’s new Speedpoint terminals enable merchants to fully integrate their sales and stock systems in real time. 

This makes the payment terminal, alongside a counter monitor, a complete point-of-sale system that enables a business owner to track their sales performance and stock levels. 

These changes are coupled with making the payment terminal a one-stop shop for almost any digital transaction for individuals. 

Using the new Speedpoint terminals, spaza shop owners can sell airtime, vouchers, and electricity while receiving ordinary payments on a single device. 

Crucially, while this offering is similar to what some fintechs provide, settlement is significantly quicker, often overnight, which enables much more effective cashflow management. 

Some of FNB’s new devices also allow for the payment of the R370 social relief of distress grant, after linking an ID and cellphone number. 

The revamped offering also looks to enhance FNB’s presence in the fast-growing market of lending to small businesses through its FNB Cash Advance offering. This is a working capital facility linked to trading performance. 

Since its launch, 65% of FNB Cash Advance payouts have been under R100,000, with 31% going to businesses with annual turnover below R1 million. Repayments are structured as a portion of daily sales processed through Speedpoint® devices.

FNB has also overhauled their pricing structure to help businesses understand the cost of accepting payments, with the bank increasing flexibility. 

Businesses can choose devices based on how they trade today, with options to scale as their needs change, with flexibility on how to pay for those devices –

• Speedpoint® Go: Buy R699 or rent R230 per month
• Speedpoint® Pro: Buy R1,499 or rent R320 per month
• Speedpoint® Tablet: Buy R4,999 or rent R500 per month
• Speedpoint® Counter: Buy R7,499 or rent R920 per month

From 4 March 2026, all existing Speedpoint® merchants will automatically move onto the new pricing structure, which will result in immediate savings through lower commission rates.

FNB’s commission model is structured so that businesses pay less in line with their activity. The more merchants trade, the less commission they pay.  

“Merchants don’t wake up thinking about ‘value propositions’ — they’re looking for real‑world answers to the business challenges they face,” FNB Merchant Services CEO John Mlangeni said.