With cash becoming less common, workers such as petrol attendants, car guards, waiters, baristas, and caddies are finding themselves increasingly left out of everyday transactions.
Tappy has launched a low-cost digital payments platform that allows tipped workers to receive instant cashless payments. It combines a wearable NFC-enabled device with a linked digital wallet, allowing customers to tap their phones and pay in seconds. There’s no need for the customer to download an app or register an account.
Tappy tackles a growing gap in the economy, where more people are going fully cashless while millions of workers in informal or service jobs still depend on cash tips. With a tap-to-pay wearable and digital wallet, Tappy makes it easy and secure to tip or make small payments—no cards, apps, or bank accounts needed.
“Tappy solves a real-world problem: how do you tip someone when you don’t have cash, and they don’t have a card machine?” says West Pitt, co-founder of Tappy. “We’ve developed a system that makes digital payments simple for everyone, without additional hardware, apps, or complex banking requirements.”
Payments are processed instantly through Visa and Mastercard networks, with compatibility across Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and Tappy Pay. Earnings reflect immediately in the user’s Tappy Wallet, where balances and transaction history are visible in real time. Funds can be pushed to a bank account or mobile wallet within seconds.
The rollout kicks off in December 2025, with 50,000 devices already spread across the country. Tappy has the green light from the South African Reserve Bank, and every transaction is fully encrypted from start to finish. No personal information is stored on the device or shared during payments, and the system is built to run smoothly even when connectivity is low.
Devices will be available for sale at Dis-Chem and Studio88 stores from early 2026, with the company targeting 100,000 users in its first year. Expansion into other African markets is planned for 2026 pending regulatory alignment.
“If the future of money is digital, then it must include everyone,” Pitt says. “This isn’t just about innovation. It’s about survival for people who earn in coins and notes but are being pushed out of the system. Tappy is here to keep them in the economy, not outside it.”