South Africa phases out magstripe payments at toll booths this December

South Africa hasn’t quite crawled to a stop yet but with the holiday season fast approaching, many are starting to plan ahead. Traversing South Africa’s various toll booths is not a cheap adventure at the best of times, and the new rules that disallow drivers to pay using their bank card’s magstripe are sure to only introduce further complications – even if they are for our safety.

As of 1 December 2024, South Africa began the phasing out of magstripe payments at toll booths, reducing the risk of fraud and promoting newer, safer ‘tap-and-go’ solutions. The rollout will not happen overnight, of course, although N3 Toll Concession (N3TC) reckons it has already adopted the tech at its mainline booths, namely those located on the N3 Toll Route between Cedara in KwaZulu-Natal and Heidelberg in Gauteng.

“What is the capital of Assyria? Also, tap your card please”

FNB has spent the better part of 2024 developing “innovative” tap-and-go solutions in partnership with Visa, rolling the tech out across 88 lanes on the N3, and a further 73 lanes along the N4 and Chapman’s Peak. Motorists visiting these toll booths from December onwards will need to whip out their contactless bank cards, a big wad of cash (have you been to a toll booth recently) or use their smartphone or smartwatch’s virtual card.

“FNB remains committed to delivering innovative solutions, and we’re proud to be the first bank in the country to deliver a seamless tap-and-go toll solution. The new payment processing platform marks a key milestone that opens up possibilities for further payment processing innovation at toll plazas across the country. The process involved close collaboration with concessionaires to ensure a fit-for-purpose system for motorists, and we’re pleased to see the excitement which has greeted the initial rollout,” said Daniel Kaan, CEO of core banking.

That doesn’t mean magstripe payments are gone for good. Not yet, anyway. FNB mentions that SANRAL and “various toll concessionaires” will continue to accept magstripe payments until 31 May 2025. Beyond that, the only magstripe payments to be accepted nationwide will be those using fleet and garage cards. This too will be phased out, with the N3TC setting a date of 1 July 2026 for the change.

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N3TC warns that this transition will experience growing pains, and as such, may result in slight delays when paying at the toll booths, and asks drivers heading out in the festive rush to please be considerate of this fact and to be patient.

“FNB remains at the forefront of payment technology in Africa, and contactless payments are the natural evolution of the payments space. We welcome SANRAL and the toll concessionaires’ decision to encourage their adoption. Contactless payments have proven to be popular amongst consumers as a quick, secure, and convenient way to pay. This is demonstrated in the growing popularity of contactless payments generally – more than 50% of card payments made by FNB customers are now contactless,” Kaan continued.