Next month debit orders in South Africa will change a lot.
Debit orders in South Africa are going to change a lot, giving people more time to dispute transactions.
As long as service rules allow it, you will be able to dispute debit orders for up to 60 days starting on April 13, 2026.
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The South African Reserve Bank SARB and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) have both confirmed the change.
Pieter Brand Head Product at financial services company Hyphen, says that the change is part of a longer process to make debit orders work better in the country.
Brand said that current system has changed a lot in the last ten years, especially after a lot of fake debit orders came in around 2015.
He said, “The industry suddenly had to deal with a lot of fake debit orders, most of which were set at R99.”
The amount was often picked because it was just below the level at which most banks would warn customers about transactions. Banks made it easier for people to challenge debit orders in response.
Because of this, ATMs, online banking platforms, and mobile banking apps all got new self-service options that let customers cancel payments without having to call a call center.
The new tools made it easier to settle disagreements, but the number of disagreements didn’t always go down.
Instead better consumer awareness and digital banking channels made it easier for people to dispute transactions.
The industry came up with DebiCheck to solve the problem. The SARB gave the order to create the system in 2017, and it officially launched in May 2021.
Before a business can collect payments, DebiCheck requires customers to approve a debit order mandate directly through their bank.
Brand said, “A business sends an electronic copy of its collection agreement through the consumer’s bank, and the consumer approves it in their preferred banking channel.”
The bank keeps a record of the agreement once the mandate is confirmed. If the business collects payments according to the terms of the agreement, those transactions can’t be challenged, even within the new 60-day window.
Businesses that use debit orders will have to change.
Pieter Brand is the Head of Product at Hyphen.
DebiCheck is already widely used by businesses that have a higher risk of not getting paid, like credit providers or companies that sell things on hire purchase.
Brand said, “When you give someone a loan or sell them something that they have to pay back over time, the extra cost of making sure your collections are not disputed is easy to understand.”
But the new 60-day dispute window could make things harder for businesses that still use old-fashioned debit-order systems.
Brand thinks that disagreements will mostly happen between two kinds of businesses.
The first group is made up of businesses that haven’t yet started using tools like DebiCheck and have customers who are more likely to default.
Brand said that these companies might need to start using safer ways to collect money or raise their prices to cover higher dispute losses.
The second group is made up of businesses that get paid for ongoing services or goods and can stop providing those services if they don’t get paid.
These businesses will have to weigh the cost of premium collection tools like DebiCheck against the possible losses from payments that are disputed.
Brand said, “In some cases, losing two months of premiums or paying a lot to get a new customer could make that investment worth it.”
Brand also said that businesses should look over their customer agreements to make sure that the payment terms match how payments are actually made.
This can help clear things up and lower the chance of arguments. At the same time, new ways to pay are coming out that could help businesses get back on their feet quickly in case of a disagreement.
PayShap Request to Pay, which came out in December 2024, is one example. Businesses can send customers a payment request through the system, and customers can approve it right away in their banking app or through their preferred banking channel.
He also said that the banking industry has been working on the systems and infrastructure needed for these changes for years.
“Yes the longer automated window will put short-term pressure on businesses that haven’t updated how they collect payments. But in this field, pressure often leads to new ideas,” he said.
