Street Wallet, a South African cashless payment fintech, has partnered with Plush Car Wash, a popular car care brand, to introduce digital payments to informal car washers in Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg.
Through this partnership, Street Wallet will embed its payment system into Plush’s network of informal car washers, many of whom are unbanked or underbanked, a way to receive instant device-free payments.
In South Africa, where over 40% of working-age citizens are unemployed or discouraged from seeking work, the streets have become the country’s largest informal economy hub. For thousands of workers who survive on car washing and other street-level services, this partnership signals a shift that cash-heavy, insecure transactions are giving way to digital payments that do not require smartphones or bank accounts.
Using Street Wallet’s QR code payment, mobile washers wear a card around their neck, customers scan it using familiar platforms like SnapScan, Zapper, Apple Pay, or Samsung Pay, and vendors receive earnings via Standard Bank Instant Money Vouchers, redeemable at ATMs or retailers. Unlike SnapScan or Ozow, Street Wallet does not require vendors to own a smartphone or bank account. That’s a game-changer for car guards, dry washers, and other informal workers operating in high-footfall zones.
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“Our teams operate in high-footfall zones where speed and ease matter. Street Wallet gives us a flexible, secure system that benefits both staff and customers,” said Plush CEO Neil Meyerowitz.
While Street Wallet already has a strong footprint in Cape Town and Durban, this partnership strengthens the Johannesburg market, a city with the highest concentration and proportion of informal workers after Durban.
“This partnership shows how digital convenience can meet everyday services, securely, simply, and inclusively,” said Street Wallet CEO Kosta Scholiadis.
The partnership follows Street Wallet’s $350,000 raise in August at a $2 million valuation, aimed at scaling its reach across South Africa’s informal economy. The startup also acquired Digitip, a QR code payment digital tipping startup, to consolidate its tech stack and accelerate merchant onboarding.
Scholiadis noted that Street Wallet is betting that the future of fintech lies not just in apps, but in accessible, device-free solutions that meet people where they are.
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