06/02/2026
What is NFC and why does everyone want it?
Near-field communication or NFC consists of a set of communication protocols that allow devices to transmit data over a short distance of 4cm or less, like a phone or an NFC enabled smartwatch.
This capability was previously only available on higher-end smartwatches and smartphones but has become more common on budget and mid-range devices.
Five smart device-based tap payment platforms are generally available in South Africa β Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay, Google Pay/Google Wallet, and Samsung Pay/Samsung Wallet.
Huawei Pay is not included in this category because it only supports scan-to-pay in South Africa, using the smartphoneβs camera to read a QR code.
In most cases, the payment platform you will use depends on the brand of smartwatch you buy.
For example, Apple Pay is supported on Apple Watch Series smartwatches, while Samsung Pay works on Samsung Galaxy smartwatches.
Google Pay is the only platform that works across multiple brands of devices β with support for more recent Fitbit, Fossil, Samsung, and other third-party watches.
To use the payment platforms, you will have to link a debit or credit card from a bank that supports them.
Major South African banks, including Absa, Discovery Bank, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank, have onboarded all five of the platforms available locally.
Capitec was a bit of a late arrival to smart device tap-to-pay, but it now also offers support for Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
Key Limitations
No Secure Element (SE): These watches lack the required tamper-resistant chips (Hardware Secure Element) that store credit card information securely.
No Bank Integration: They do not support Wallet apps to link your credit/debit card.
Not for Payments: You cannot "tap to pay" at retail stores, terminals, or public transit turnstiles with these devices.
In a recent article on https://mybroadband.co.za they had a great discussion on what to expect in the market when looking to buy an NFC enabled device. With prices for NFC enabled smartwatches generally starting from R2,399 these are a few of the most affordable smartwatches you can buy in South Africa with tap-to-pay capability.
The cheapest option was the Fitbit Charge 4, priced at R2,399.
To use its tap-to-pay functionality, wearers must bank with Absa, Discovery Bank, FNB, Nedbank, or Standard Bank.
We also found options from Apple, Garmin, and Samsung, which are listed below, together with their digital payment platforms and bank support.
It should be noted that there is another platform β SwatchPay β available on several Swatch watches starting from as little as R1,900.
However, these feature passive NFC chips and are not smartwatches. They are also currently only supported by one bank β FNB.
For these reasons, we have not included them on this particular list.
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/gadgets/486565-cheapest-tap-to-pay-smartwatches-in-south-africa.html #:~:text=This%20capability%20was%20previously%20only,Google%20Pay%2C%20and%20Samsung%20Pay.
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