How international travelers, nomads & expats can pay with QR codes in South Africa
Brunch in Cape Town, a braai in Johannesburg, a beachfront market in Durban: South Africa's restaurants, coffee shops and craft markets take QR through Zapper, SnapScan and Scan to Pay. Moreta Pay scans those codes for you, funded from your own bank or card, so you pay in rand without a South African account.
Scan to Pay
Zapper
SnapScan
EasyPay
Costs, limits and tips
Paying in South Africa
Guide updated
Local tips
- Look for the Zapper, SnapScan or Scan to Pay mark on the bill, the stand or the window.
- Keep a little cash for car guards, township tours and rural markets.
- Load shedding can knock out a merchant's signal. If a scan stalls, the app tells you before anything is charged.
Why QR code is the best way to pay in South Africa
QR codes are how people pay in South Africa: hold up a phone, scan the code on the counter, done. South Africa took to QR early: Zapper and SnapScan codes are on restaurant bills, at market stalls and in coffee shops, Scan to Pay reaches merchants across the big banks, and EasyPay covers bills and parking. Cards are common too, but a scan skips the foreign transaction fee and the terminal's rate.
Moreta gives you the same thing as a visitor. A scan is contactless, so there is no card to hand over and no cash to carry, and each payment costs one flat fee at the live rate instead of a foreign transaction fee and a marked-up rate from your bank at home.
The problem with paying abroad as a tourist, expat or nomad
Paying abroad with the card in your wallet is easy until it is not. Your bank may block the first charge as suspicious. When it goes through, most cards add a foreign transaction fee and convert at a rate of their choosing, and some terminals offer to charge you in your own currency at a worse one.
Cash is no better. ATMs stack your bank's withdrawal fee, the operator's fee and a poor rate, and you still end up carrying more South African rand than you need and changing the rest back at the airport. Paying by QR from a wallet you fund yourself skips all of it: one fee, the live rate and no plastic.
Card or cash
- A foreign transaction fee on most cards
- Your bank's rate, or the terminal's worse one
- ATM fees from your bank and the operator
- Leftover South African rand to change back
Moreta
- One flat fee, shown before you slide to pay
- The live rate at the moment you pay
- No ATM and no card to hand over
- What you do not spend stays for the next country
How Moreta Pay works
Moreta is a wallet on your phone that pays Scan to Pay, Zapper, SnapScan, and EasyPay codes as if a local had scanned them. Set it up once, at home or on the plane, and it is ready before you land in South Africa.
01Verify your identity
Download Moreta, scan your passport and take a selfie. Verification usually takes a few minutes, and your account can move money as soon as it passes.
- 02
Load funds to your Moreta Pay wallet
Link a US bank through Plaid, or send a SEPA, Faster Payments, Interac or PayID transfer. Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and USDC work too, and you can top up from the road.
- 03
Scan QR codes at local shops & restaurants
Tap Scan and point your camera at the Scan to Pay, Zapper, SnapScan, and EasyPay code on the counter. Moreta reads it the way a South African bank app would.
- 04
Get seamless payments on the go
Check the amount in South African rand, what it costs in your own currency and the fee, then slide to pay. The merchant sees the payment in their own app the moment it clears.
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
AUD
Why Moreta Pay is better than alternatives
No local bank account required
Pay from the bank or card you already have. Nothing to open, nothing to close when you leave.
Seamless integration with Scan to Pay, Zapper, SnapScan & EasyPay
Scan to Pay is the shared QR network behind most South African bank apps, Zapper and SnapScan are the codes restaurants and markets print, and EasyPay handles bills and municipal payments. Moreta pays all four, showing the rand amount in your own currency before you confirm.
Designed for international travelers, expats & nomads
A two-week trip or a year abroad, it works the same, and what you do not spend stays for the next country.
Several accepted payment types
Top up by bank transfer in US dollars, euros, pounds, Canadian or Australian dollars, or with a card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or USDC.
Lower fees compared to cash or card alternatives
One flat fee per payment, shown before you confirm. No ATM fees, and most banks add no foreign transaction fee.
Instant, contactless QR payments
Scan, check, slide. Nothing to hand over, and the merchant is paid in seconds.
Real exchange rates
Every payment converts to South African rand at the live rate at the moment you pay.
See today's rate
Frequently asked questions
What travellers ask before paying by QR in South Africa.
Showing 6 of 9 questions
More ways to pay
Activate your Moreta Pay account before your trip
Set up Moreta, add money and land in South Africa ready to scan. No cash to change, no card to worry about, and one flat fee at the live rate on every payment.
Also works in 
Vietnam, 
Thailand, 
Cambodia, 
the Philippines, 
Laos, 
Malaysia, 
South Korea, 
Mongolia, 
China, 
Brazil, 
Argentina, 
Peru, 
Bolivia, and 
Colombia