Understand any stock in simple English
Enter a ticker to learn what the company does and how it makes money.
iKhokha sells card machines and a payment app that let small South African businesses accept card and digital payments.
iKhokha is a South African payments company that gives small businesses a way to take card payments without the hassle and cost of dealing with a traditional bank. A shop owner, a taxi driver, a market trader, or a plumber can buy one of its small card machines, pair it with the iKhokha app on a phone, and start accepting taps and swipes within minutes. The company built its name on making sign-up fast and the hardware cheap, which matters enormously in a country where many small traders have long been shut out of formal card acceptance.
The business earns money in a few simple ways. It sells the card machines themselves, and it takes a small cut of each transaction that runs through them, much like any payment processor anywhere in the world. It also offers a payment app and digital tools, so a business can send invoices, take payments by link, and keep track of sales in one place. The customer is the small business owner, and the pitch is straightforward: you don't need a bank branch, a long contract, or expensive equipment to get paid by card. iKhokha grew out of a startup founded in Durban around 2012, and it became one of the better-known fintech names in South Africa by focusing squarely on the underserved small-merchant market. Its main competition comes from banks and other payment providers chasing the same small businesses, including Block-style app-and-reader models abroad and local players at home. The edge it leans on is speed and simplicity — getting a trader from cash-only to card-ready without friction.
The company is privately held, so its financials aren't public the way a listed firm's would be, and it has drawn outside investment to fund growth rather than paying dividends to public shareholders. That cash goes into expanding its product range and reaching more merchants across South Africa. The bet is that millions of small businesses still transact mostly in cash, and whoever makes it easiest and cheapest to switch will win their loyalty.
Saved answer · last researched 15 Nov 2026