eWallet payments in South Africa refer to the disbursement of funds to a recipient's mobile phone number rather than a bank account. The most widely used eWallet service in South Africa is FNB's eWallet, which allows senders (including businesses) to send money to any South African mobile number — regardless of whether the recipient has a bank account. The recipient receives an SMS with a PIN and can withdraw the funds at any FNB ATM or Pick n Pay, Boxer, or PicknPay retailers. Other eWallet-type systems in South Africa include MTN MoMo (MTN Mobile Money) and Capitec's USSD wallet service. eWallet payments are particularly useful for paying unbanked workers, contractors, or beneficiaries.

For businesses, eWallet disbursements are typically processed as follows: (1) The business loads recipient mobile numbers and payment amounts into a bulk disbursement file or API. (2) The payment service provider or bank processes the instructions. (3) Each recipient receives an SMS notification with a withdrawal PIN. (4) Recipients withdraw cash at designated ATMs or retailers, or (if they have an account on the wallet platform) hold and transfer the funds digitally. From a reconciliation perspective, each eWallet disbursement produces a debit entry on the business bank account, which must be matched to the corresponding disbursement record. eWallet transactions are typically settled same-day or next business day from the business's account.

EFT credit transfers require the recipient to have a valid South African bank account, and payment processes on the next business day. eWallet payments require only a South African mobile number, making them accessible to unbanked recipients, and are typically available for withdrawal within minutes. EFT is lower cost per transaction and supports larger amounts; eWallet has per-transaction limits set by the wallet provider and typically higher per-transaction fees. For paying unbanked or low-income workers, casual labourers, or beneficiaries who may not have a bank account, eWallet is the most practical disbursement method. For salary or supplier payments to banked individuals, EFT remains the standard.

eWallet disbursement reconciliation involves matching each payment instruction submitted to the provider against the debit entries on the business bank account and the confirmation report from the eWallet provider. Most eWallet providers generate a disbursement confirmation report showing successful, failed, and pending transactions. Failed disbursements (typically because the mobile number is invalid or the recipient's wallet is suspended) will generate a credit back to the business account. The reconciliation process matches the business bank statement credits and debits against the disbursement report line by line. Integration with AVS can help verify that mobile numbers are active before disbursement to reduce failure rates.