Debit order collections best practices: How SA businesses can reduce disputes and failed payments
August 28, 2026
How to set up a WooCommerce payment gateway in South Africa
September 11, 2026Disclaimer:
This blog offers general guidance based on information available at the time of publication. For the most up-to-date details, please contact Netcash or other service providers directly.
According to Growth Pulse Media, the South African eCommerce market is growing at an approximate 10% annually. However, while more customers are shopping online, many purchases never reach the checkout stage because people often abandon their shopping carts.
Businesses invest a lot in SEO, paid advertising, and social media to attract website visitors, making every abandoned cart a missed opportunity to recover marketing spend. This is where a good conversion optimisation strategy comes in, as most abandoned carts are not a sign that buyers dislike the product. Rather, they signal friction in the buying journey or checkout process.
In this guide, you’ll find out why many customers abandon carts in South Africa, and how you can reduce it. Additionally, the guide explains how partnering with the right payment provider can not only help you reduce cart abandonment but also improve conversion rates. Let’s dive in!
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What is shopping cart abandonment?
Shopping cart abandonment happens when a potential customer adds items to their online shopping cart but leaves before completing the purchase. It is typically measured as the percentage of shopping sessions in which a cart is created, but no order is completed.
Monitoring cart abandonment rate helps you identify where customers lose interest or encounter obstacles in the buying journey. But to have a complete picture of your store’s performance, it’s equally important to understand how cart abandonment differs from checkout abandonment.
Cart abandonment vs checkout abandonment
Checkout abandonment occurs when a potential buyer adds items to a cart, proceeds to the checkout page, and enters the final transaction funnel, but fails to finalise payment. Customers generally demonstrate strong purchase intent at this stage, indicating that the drop-off is due to conversion blockers in the checkout experience, such as unexpected costs, forced account creation, limited payment options or trust concerns.
Key takeaway: Tracking both metrics helps you identify where customers are dropping off and why. A high cart abandonment rate often suggests shoppers need more reassurance before committing to a purchase. A high checkout abandonment rate often indicates barriers in the checkout process that can be reduced or eliminated to improve your conversion rate.
Cart abandonment in South Africa: The latest data
According to the latest online shopping statistics, South Africa has an eCommerce cart abandonment rate that hovers around 84%, well above the global rate of around 70%.
Furthermore, data shows that:
- 71% of potential customers drop out of the purchase due to payment failure on the first attempt. Of those, about 62% will completely abandon the platform, never returning. (Stitch's 2025 Consumer Payments Report)
- Over 45% of online shoppers say they will not complete a purchase if they do not recognise the payment provider on the checkout page. (Stitch's 2025 Consumer Payments Report)
- A Mastercard online retail study found that the most common causes of cart abandonment were: a long, complicated checkout process (37.3%), shipping fees (31.3%), and credit card declines (27.9%). (Online Retail in South Africa 2025)
- It further showed that a lack of acceptable payment methods (14.4%) and forced account creation (13.9%) also played key roles. (Online Retail in South Africa 2025)
- While no percentage-based data exists yet, many merchants report lower checkout abandonment and higher conversion rates after introducing BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) options. BNPL removes the high upfront cost barrier and provides customers with payment flexibility. (IOL 2024)
Why South Africans abandon shopping carts
Cart abandonment has several root causes. While some are beyond your control, several checkout abandonment reasons are within your control and can be addressed with practical solutions.
- Payment failures: Failures due to card issues, suspected fraud, or technical glitches often result in abandoned carts. Soft declines, such as insufficient funds, can be resolved by the customer depositing money into their account and trying again. However, hard declines, such as lost or stolen cards, expired cards, or account restrictions, generally require an alternative payment method rather than another payment attempt.
- Unexpected costs at checkout: High shipping costs, hidden service charges, processing fees, or unexpected taxes cause a significant drop-off. Avoid this by clearly communicating pricing on the product page so the total price in the cart remains consistent throughout the shopping process. For B2C buyers, display a VAT-inclusive price; for B2B merchants, clarify whether the price is VAT-inclusive or excludes VAT.
- Limited payment options: Customers expect a variety of payment methods. Limiting options to card or traditional EFT payments puts you at risk of high cart abandonment. Offer alternative methods such as Instant EFT, Scan to Pay, digital wallets, and BNPL.
- Slow or complicated checkout: Forced account creation, multiple form fields, or slow-loading checkout pages on smaller screens can hurt your store’s conversions. Optimise for mobile, reduce unnecessary steps, and allow guest payments.
- Lack of trust: Unfamiliar payment systems, unspecified delivery times, unexpected checkout costs, and a lack of social proof and other trust signals scare potential customers away. Use recognised providers, display SSL certificates, security logos, return policies, company contact details, and real customer reviews to gain their trust.
- Shipping and returns uncertainty: Buyers want confidence that their order will arrive before committing to payment. Vague delivery estimates or unclear return policies create hesitation. Display delivery timeframes, stock availability, tracking functions, and return details throughout the shopping journey, rather than only at checkout or after payment. At checkout, also indicate whether products are eligible for free returns and clarify customer protection in the event of loss or theft.
Ready to make the switch?
Get in touch with Netcash to access a secure debit order payments solution that simplifies collections from day one.
Seven ways to reduce cart abandonment this week
Reducing cart abandonment may seem challenging at first glance. But it’s actually more straightforward than you think. Simply identify where most drop-offs occur, and implement one or more of the cart abandonment solutions below to increase your store’s conversions.
1. Show the full price upfront
Unexpected fees that appear late in the buying journey are a primary cause of cart abandonment. Customers should never be surprised by additional costs after deciding to purchase. Make everything clear by displaying VAT rates, delivery costs, and any extra fees before and during the process to avoid shocking potential customers and losing a sale.
2. Keep checkout short
A complex checkout with multiple steps is the quickest way to chase customers away. Remove unnecessary form fields, enable autofill, and allow guest checkout wherever possible to improve your checkout optimisation in South Africa. Ensure you use a single, secure payment gateway like Netcash Pay Now, with multiple payment methods, to streamline the checkout process.
3. Offer more payment methods
South African consumer preferences are shifting, so it’s better to align with the country’s top online payment methods rather than assume everyone pays by card. Payment flexibility improves accessibility while reducing unnecessary drop-off. Accept popular options such as Instant EFTs, Scan to Pay, BNPL (e.g. Payflex), digital wallets, and even voucher payments.
4. Display trust signals
Customers are rightfully suspicious of online payment scams; you should work hard to gain their trust. Display recognised payment provider logos, SSL certificates, PCI compliance, 3D Secure authentication, and customer reviews throughout the checkout process to show authenticity.
5. Optimise for mobile first
With over 77% of South Africans shopping online using their mobile devices, it’s recommended to design the checkout experience for smartphone users before adapting it for desktop. Use larger buttons, fewer typing requirements, and responsive layouts to simplify mobile navigation. You’ll also need to use mobile-friendly payment methods, such as Scan to Pay.
6. Use abandoned checkout recovery
Enable cart recovery in your online store to set automated triggers that activate when a customer adds the first item to a cart, or when they start the checkout process and enter details such as their email address or phone number, but fail to complete payment.
Use automated email, WhatsApp, or SMS reminders where appropriate, and include a direct link to restore the customer’s cart. Offer limited-time incentives such as discounts, or send personalised follow-ups with social proof to build trust.
7. Test and improve continuously
Checkout optimisation should be an ongoing process rather than a one-off project to achieve the best cart abandonment recovery results. Monitor checkout analytics, payment failures, and customer behaviour to identify where customers drop off. Use tools and techniques such as A/B testing and Heatmaps to better understand the customer journey and how to improve it.
Payment method gaps that cost you sales
Payment is the final step of the buying journey, making it one of the highest-impact areas for improving conversion rates. If your process is lengthy, has weak security, or lacks payment method flexibility, you risk customers abandoning their carts and moving on to a competitor.
Offering more payment options is naturally the best way to increase conversion rates, but most merchants ignore customer expectations. The table below explains how each payment method misaligns with what potential buyers expect and where you could lose out as a merchant.
|
Payment option |
What customers expect |
Where merchants lose sales |
|
Manual EFT |
A quick payment confirmation and immediate order processing |
Customers must manually enter banking details and send proof of payment
Delayed payment verification increases the likelihood of abandoned purchases and creates unnecessary admin for the merchant |
|
Card payments only |
The ability to choose their preferred way to pay |
Customers who prefer Instant EFT, QR payments or Buy Now, Pay Later may abandon their purchase if card payments are the only option available |
|
Instant EFT |
A fast, secure bank transfer without leaving the checkout experience |
If Instant EFT isn’t offered, customers may postpone their purchase to complete a manual transfer later, or never return |
|
Scan to Pay (QR payments) |
A seamless mobile payment experience with minimal typing |
Mobile shoppers can become frustrated by lengthy card forms, increasing the likelihood of checkout abandonment |
|
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) |
Flexible payment options for higher-value purchases |
Customers may delay or abandon larger purchases if they cannot spread the cost over time |
Ready to make the switch?
Get in touch with Netcash to access a secure debit order payments solution that simplifies collections from day one.
Mobile checkout: What South African shoppers expect
A 2025 study found that 51.7% of the 10.4 million internet users who made online purchases in South Africa the previous year did so via mobile phones. Customers increasingly expect a seamless mobile shopping experience, and poor mobile usability often leads to abandonment.
Here’s what potential buyers expect from your store.
- Fast page loads: Faster page loads reduce frustration, particularly for shoppers on mobile networks rather than Wi-Fi. Check your site’s performance on PageSpeed Insights and aim to keep the mobile website load time under 2.5 to 3 seconds.
- Responsive checkout: Responsive design ensures checkout pages remain consistent and easy to navigate across different screen sizes and devices. Create a seamless user experience with a design that auto-fits payment forms and buttons to any screen size.
- Auto-filled customer information: Customers with high-buying intent want to pay as quickly as possible. Simplify checkout data entry through features such as address autocomplete, saved payment details, and digital wallet integration where appropriate.
- Digital wallets: Increase conversions by removing purchase barriers that cause customers to drop off at checkout. Accept payment via digital wallets that support “no-typing” and “one-click buy” for speed and convenience. Ensure the payment process is secure, with tokenisation and Face ID or fingerprint scanning for top-notch security.
- QR payments: QR-based payment options, such as Scan to Pay, reduce typing and have fewer steps, streamlining payment completion. Customers don’t need to download an app to pay, while encryption hides sensitive data, strengthening payment security.
Ready to increase your debit order collection rates?
Get in touch with Netcash for a solution that allows you to effectively reduce disputes, reversals, and failed payments.]
Frequently asked questions about online cart abandonment
Reduce checkout abandonment with Netcash today!
South African shoppers rarely abandon their carts because they no longer want the product. More often, they encounter unnecessary checkout obstacles, from unexpected costs and complicated checkouts to limited payment options and trust concerns. Reducing cart abandonment starts with continuously reviewing your checkout experience, simplifying every step and testing improvements that make it easier for customers to complete their purchase.
Netcash helps merchants optimise conversion rates by removing payment friction through a single, secure payment gateway. With support for multiple payment methods, including cards, Instant EFT, Scan to Pay, and Payflex, you can give customers the flexibility to pay how they prefer while streamlining payment management behind the scenes.
Make it easier for customers to say “yes” at checkout.
Partner with Netcash to offer trusted payment methods, streamline the buying journey and improve online conversion rates.
Author:
Velda Morris
Key Accounts Manager
Stay in Touch
Velda Morris is a seasoned business development expert with a proven track record of success in the financial services and payments industry. With over three decades of experience, Velda brings a wealth of knowledge and a customer-centric approach to every engagement. As a Senior Business Development Manager, she is adept at identifying new opportunities, tailoring solutions to client needs, and driving growth. Velda's strong communication and negotiation skills, coupled with her solution-oriented mindset, make her a valuable asset to any organisation.
