Cashless tipping fixed something real. Nobody carries notes any more, so the car guard, the petrol attendant and the waitron were quietly cut out of a payment system everyone else had already moved to. A QR code puts them back in it.
But it fixed that problem by assuming something else: that the person being tipped has a bank account to send the money to. For a lot of South Africans, that isn't true — and telling someone "we'll pay you, just open a bank account first" is not much better than telling them to hope for coins.
So we removed the requirement. You can now collect what you earn on TipEasy as prepaid airtime or as a shop voucher, without ever giving us bank details.
Why a bank account was the wrong thing to insist on
Millions of adults in South Africa are unbanked or only lightly banked, and the reasons are usually practical rather than principled. Monthly account fees eat a small income. Opening an account means documents, an address and a branch visit during working hours — which is difficult when your working hours are the working hours. Some people had an account, got tired of the charges, and let it go.
None of that has anything to do with whether you deserve to be paid for your work. It was our gate, not your problem, so we took it down.
What you can take instead
Two rails, both delivered to your phone:
- Prepaid airtime — sent to the same cellphone number you sign in with, on any of the major networks. It takes any amount from R2, which makes it the most flexible option by a distance.
- A shop voucher — Pick n Pay, Checkers, Shoprite or Usave. You get a PIN by SMS, and it's also stored in your TipEasy portal so you can find it again if the message gets lost.
| Option | Minimum | Amounts |
|---|---|---|
| Airtime | R2 | Any amount, up to R999 |
| Pick n Pay | R50 | In steps of R50 |
| Checkers, Shoprite, Usave | R100 | In steps of R10 |
Airtime's R2 floor matters more than it looks. A voucher needs you to build up R50 or R100 before it's worth anything; airtime turns a single small tip into something you can use the same day.
How it works
- Sign up with your cellphone number. No bank details, no ID, no documents — just a number and your name.
- Share your QR code. Your tip page is live from the moment you register, so you can start collecting straight away.
- Watch your balance grow. Every tip lands in your TipEasy balance, and you can see each one in your portal.
- Cash out when you want it. Open Get paid, choose airtime or a voucher, and it arrives on your phone.
Because tips come in odd amounts and vouchers come in round ones, anything left over stays in your balance as change and is spent first next time. Nothing is rounded away.
What it costs
Nothing extra. There's no fee for taking your money as airtime or a voucher — you get the full face value of whatever you cash out, and the cost of buying it is ours, not yours.
The tip itself carries the same fees it always has: a 5% platform fee plus a flat R2 processing fee, shown to the customer in full before they pay. Most customers choose to cover those at checkout, which means you keep the whole tip.
Worth noting: the flat R3 bank charge on a payout is a bank rail cost. On airtime and vouchers it doesn't apply at all, because no bank is involved.
You don't have to remember to cash out
If you'd rather not think about it, TipEasy will do it for you. Once your balance is big enough it cashes out automatically, in the method you chose — airtime workers at R50, voucher workers at the smallest denomination their balance covers, always buying the largest amount it can afford.
And if a balance sits untouched for a long stretch, we send it out as airtime rather than letting it gather dust. Your money should end up with you, not parked with us.
You can change your mind whenever you like
Airtime, vouchers and bank payouts aren't a one-time decision. Switch between them in Get paid as often as you want.
That cuts both ways. If you open a bank account later — or you already have one and simply want a lean month on airtime — nothing is locked in. Take vouchers over December and go back to your bank in January if that suits you better.
The bottom line
Going cashless was never supposed to mean going unpaid. If people want to thank you for your work, the only thing that should stand between you and that money is a phone — and you already have one.
TipEasy is open to anyone in South Africa who earns a tip, banked or not. All it takes is your cellphone number: create your free account and your QR code is ready in minutes. Not sure how it all works? Read the step-by-step guide.