7 Awesome Cashless School Apps In South Africa – The Ultimate Comparison

To help you choose a cashless school app for your school, we have put together an article that breaks down the features of the primary cashless payment apps for schools in South Africa.

The article gives a description of each cashless school app and also lists what you can expect when using the app. This will help you choose the best cashless school app for your school.

The platforms included in this comparison:

• Cashless Campus by Eezipay
• Allxs
• Karri
• Sticitt
• TapTuck
• Lunchcard
• Snackpay

Before You Compare – What Schools Really Need to Know

Although all these platforms fall under the “cashless school” category, they are NOT the same type of product.
Schools often compare apples to oranges without realising it.

Here are the key differences:

1. Some platforms are enterprise payment systems used in multiple industries

(Eezipay, Allxs)

They support:

• POS
• vending
• multi-vendor environments
• campus commerce
• retail & hospitality
• events
  …AND inside that, they also offer school solutions.

But only Eezipay has created a dedicated, school-native product built on that engine.

2. Some platforms are payment-only apps

(Karri, Sticitt)

These focus mainly on:

• fee collections
• forms
• ad-hoc payments
• reminders

They do not manage daily school operations.

3. Others specialise in tuckshop or meal ordering

(TapTuck, Lunchcard, Snackpay)

These focus on:

• tuckshop payments
• meal ordering
• TAG/cards for learners

Cashless School App Comparison (2025 Updated)

This table compares the features schools actually care about – not marketing claims.

Feature / Function	Eezipay	Allxs	Karri	Sticitt	TapTuck	Lunchcard	Snackpay
Parent Mobile App	Yes	No	Yes	Via d6	Yes	Basic	No
Family Wallets	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Daily Spend Limits	Yes	Possible	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cross-School Shopping (Networks)	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
School Communication	Yes	No	Yes	Via d6	Orders	No	Alerts
Permissions & Event Workflows	Yes	Ticketing only	Reminders	Payments only	Basic	No	No
Integrated POS	Yes (TouchPOS)	Yes	No	No	Basic	Basic	TAG Device
Mobile Payment Terminals (MPT)	Yes (MPT3/MPT5)	Not school-specific	No	No	No	No	No
Meal Booking	Yes	Yes	No	Via Wallet	Yes	Yes	Tag
Enterprise Vending	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No

How These Apps Differ

Multi-App vs Single-App UX As seen above, Eezipay, Karri, TapTuck, Lunchcard, and Snackpay all offer dedicated mobile apps. However, Allxs utilizes a PWA (Progressive Web App) rather than a native store app. Sticitt relies heavily on integration with the d6 communicator.

Ecosystem vs. Point Solutions The major difference lies in daily workflow. Point solutions force schools to run different systems for fees, tuckshops, and events. An ecosystem like Cashless Campus consolidates these, meaning parents have one login for everything from permission slips to tuckshop orders.

1. Cashless Campus by Eezipay
2. Sticitt Pay
3. Allxs
4. Karri
5. TapTuck
6. Lunchcard
7. Snackpay

1. Cashless Campus by Eezipay

Cashless Campus is a bundle of cashless school apps that are designed to take a school cashless in every way you can think of.

If we do not have a feature, you can ask us for it and we will simply add it.

Strengths & Positioning: Eezipay is an enterprise-level system with a dedicated school-specific product (Cashless Campus). It is currently the only system offering true cross-school shopping (allowing parents to pay for siblings at different schools in one transaction) and the only system with school-ready MPT mobile checkout devices. It is widely considered the strongest option for private school networks requiring a unified ecosystem.

What to expect:

• Scan-to-pay
• Lunchcard
• Instant top-ups
• Cross-shopping between all schools
• Manage family accounts
• Pre-order healthy meals
• Set daily spending limits
• Merchant app
• User app
• Real time reporting
• Parent communication
• Help desk
• School events permission
• School event reminders
• White labeling for free 
• Various add ons available to meet schools present and future needs
• Can easily demo their product for free

Pricing 

User:

• No monthly fees.
• Optional card fee.
• 5% transaction cost.

Merchant:

• Setup fee: R550 once-off fee.
• R250p/m subscription fee (includes support 8am till 5pm weekdays)

Additional Modules:

• OrderGo: R150
• Meal Booking: R500
• Events: R250
• Ticketing: Free
• Transport: R250

Transaction Fees:

• Top up via OZOW: 5%
• Top up via CapitecPAY: 2% (Capitec account holders only)
• Payouts: 2%
• Other options available upon request

2. Sticitt Pay

Sticitt Pay is a cashless school app that is designed for safe educational environments that need cashless payments.

Sticitt makes it possible to teach children the value of money whilst promoting a safe educational environment. Their cashless system is used at various primary schools across South Africa.

Strengths & Considerations: Sticitt is deeply integrated into the d6 ecosystem, making it a convenient choice for schools already heavily reliant on d6 for communication. However, it functions primarily as a digital wallet rather than a full campus workflow system, meaning schools may still require separate solutions for complex event management or canteen inventory.

What to expect:

• Sticitt Wallet Portal
• Sticitt Store
• Merchant Dashboard
• POS App
• Payments in d6

Pricing 

User:

• Normal Wallet: Free
• Pro wallet: R35 p/m
• 2.9% Transaction fee is charged for instant top-up
• Transaction fees are also charged for the redemption of credits. (Card: 2.1% and Capitec Pay: 1%. This does not include Sticitt Wallet transaction fees.)

School & Merchant:

• Contact for pricing

3. Allxs

Allxs is a single platform to manage cashless payments. It is also used across South Africa by various schools and corporate companies.

Strengths & Considerations: Allxs is a powerful enterprise commerce platform used broadly across events, retail, vending, and corporate environments. While it offers robust infrastructure for bus ticketing and vending, it is not a school-native parent app. Schools typically use Allxs when they want a strong commerce engine, rather than a dedicated school workflow system designed around parent-family UX.

What to expect:

• Point of sale
• Ordering app
• Cashless vending
• Event Ticketing
• Payment Collections
• Pre-ordering
• Bus tickets
• Cashless events
• Inventory Management
• Buy Now Pay Later

Price:

User, Merchant and School:

• Must contact to confirm all costs.

4. Karri

Karri is a cashless school app powered by Nedbank with a focus on cashless payments. Karri helps schools make cashless payments easily by allowing them to use their bank cards or scan-to-pay on their app. Karri is also used by various schools in South Africa and in Australia.

Strengths & Considerations: Karri is exceptionally strong at ad-hoc collections and is backed by the security of Nedbank. It excels at replacing cash for outings and civvies days. However, as a fee specialist, it is not designed to manage complex tuckshop inventory, pre-ordering, or unified campus management, often requiring schools to pair it with other systems.

What to expect:

• Backed by Nedbank
• Dedicated Support Team
• Dedicated Account Manager
• Free SMS, Email and App notifications
• Free Marketing Material
• Online Shop Capabilities
• Automated Reconciliations
• Hande “Manual” payments and refunds
• No sign-up fees or hidden costs
• Built-in auto-reminders
• Real-time payment updates
• Tailored Marketing Campaigns 
• User App

Price:

Karri’s Fees:

• R1 – R100: 5.75% (VAT Inclusive)
• R101 – R1000: 4.60% (VAT Inclusive)
• R1001 – R2000: 4.03% (VAT Inclusive)
• R2000<: 3.22%
• Schools that bank with Nedbank will receive a rate between 2.8% and 3.5%

• Dedicated Account Manager and onsite training: Free
• Set up fee and cost per month: None
• Free SMS, email and app notifications to parents for the duration of your collection: Free Unlimited
• Exclusive access to webinars and training resources: Free Unlimited
• Customer support desk 7am – 5pm Monday to Friday: Free
• Tailored marketing campaign to enhance payment rates: Free
• QR code payments for Tuckshop & Fundraisers: Free
• Access to unlimited Karri resources for your school: Free Unlimited
• Monthly administration cost: None
• Cost to Parent: None

5. TapTuck

TapTuck is a cashless school app for schools with the focus of creating a safer and healthier school through cashless payments. Their apps are being used in various cafes and school tuck shops around South Africa and allow ordering of food. Hence, the focus on healthier schools.

Strengths & Considerations: TapTuck is a specialized solution focused entirely on the canteen experience and healthy eating. It is excellent for schools that only need to solve the “tuckshop problem.” It does not, however, offer the broader administrative features found in full ecosystem apps, such as event permission slips or transport management.

What to expect:

Parents/Users can:

• Make School Payments
• Order Healthy Meals 
• Order Uniforms
• Order Stationery
• Order Sports Equipment
• Scan a merchant QR code to make easy & secure payments
• Order a cashless card and set card spending limits

Merchants can:

• Load school payments, fees & permission slips
• Load healthy meals, uniforms, stationery & school products to sell

Price:

User:

• Must contact to confirm all costs.

Merchant:

Setup costs:

• R750 self-starter
• *Includes remote training
• *Includes school & menu setup

• R1750 starter pack
• *Includes remote training
• *Includes school & menu setup
• *Includes store signage
• *Includes table talkers
• *Includes 50 cards & 50 lanyards (R1450)

Miscellaneous:

• Card & pamphlet R14.50
• Lanyard with safety clip R14.50

Monthly Subscriptions:

• R290 per online store
• R0 for school payments

Transaction Fees:

• 5.0%  R0 – R350k
• 4.5%  R350k – R500k
• 4.0%  R500k – R700k
• 3.5%  R700k – R900k
• 3.0%  R900k+
• Includes card processing fees

POS Fees:

Once-off Setup Costs:

• Remote Training & Setup R500
• On-site Training & Setup R2500
• *Includes 2 hours handholding
• *Excludes travel costs

Monthly Subscription:

• 1 Terminal R350 
• 2-3 Terminals R250 each
• 4+ Terminals R200 each

School:

• Must contact to confirm all costs.

6. Lunchcard

Lunchcard is a cashless school app for management of schools and colleges across South Africa. 

Strengths & Considerations: Similar to TapTuck, Lunchcard is a specialist in canteen management and pre-ordering. It provides a reliable system for managing dietary restrictions and spending limits within the tuckshop environment but operates as a siloed dashboard rather than a unified school management platform.

What to expect:

• Deposit funds 
• Set dietary restrictions 
• View transaction history 
• View reports on purchases and other items 
• Set daily spending limits 
• Pre-order lunches from the tuckshop 
• Order school items
• Payments with Lunchcard

Price:

User, Merchant and School:

• Must contact to confirm all costs.

7. Snackpay

Snackpay is a cashless payment solution that is designed for schools.

Strengths & Considerations: Snackpay utilizes a tag-based system which is simple for students to use. It offers zero transaction fees which is a significant benefit for merchants. However, it is primarily a “tap-and-go” payment tool for tuckshops and does not offer the comprehensive app-based ecosystem features like permission slips or transport modules.

What to expect:

Parents and Students:

• Payments with a Tag
• Pin protected tag
• Merchant app
• User app
• Instant disable in case of loss
• Real-time transaction notifications to parents
• Spending limit control for parents
• Access to spending habits & history reports 

Price:

User:

• R40.00 per TAG is paid automatically from a digital wallet.

Merchant & Schools:

• SnackPay Account Registration is free.
• POS Device Rental only R299.00 p/m or R149.00 p/day for events.
• Zero transaction fees.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which cashless app is best for private school networks? For networks requiring cross-campus shopping and unified family wallets, Cashless Campus by Eezipay is currently the only provider offering cross-school purchasing and enterprise-level workflow management.

Do all cashless apps handle event tickets? No. While apps like Cashless Campus and Allxs have robust ticketing engines, other providers like Karri focus on payment collection without generating scannable tickets, and tuckshop-specific apps often exclude this feature entirely.

Can I use one app for everything? This depends on the provider. “Ecosystem” apps like Cashless Campus allow you to handle fees, tuckshop, transport, and events in one place. “Point solutions” often require parents to download separate apps for different school functions.

Conclusion

All the cashless school apps attempt to take schools cashless. Although, the way cashless school apps attempt to facilitate payments are quite similar, where all them differ is what they allow payments for and how funds are loaded onto the app.

Thus, knowing what your school needs will help you choose the right cashless school app and system.

Ready to go cashless?

Going cashless may seem like a difficult endeavor especially if you do not know who will work best for your school. The good is news that our all-in-one solution app is designed to simplify the management of educational expenses thus assuring a smooth transition to a cashless school. Let us help you kickstart your journey to streamline your school today.