Street Wallet, a South African cashless payment fintech, has struck a partnership with Plush Car Wash, one of the country’s leading car care brands, to bring digital payments to informal car washers in Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg.
The move marks a major step in modernising how thousands of informal workers, many of them unbanked or underbanked, receive income in one of South Africa’s largest street-level economies.
The companies say the partnership provides a structured way to digitise and secure transactions in an industry that remains predominantly cash-based.
“This partnership shows how digital convenience can meet everyday services, securely, simply, and inclusively,” said Street Wallet CEO Kosta Scholiadis.
What You Should Know
With South Africa’s unemployment and discouraged work rate hovering above 40% of the working-age population, the informal sector has become a critical survival mechanism for millions.
Car washers, street vendors, and casual workers often rely on cash payments that expose them to theft, inconsistent earnings, and exclusion from formal financial services.
Street Wallet’s solution aims to close this gap. Instead of requiring vendors to own smartphones or bank accounts, the fintech issues QR-coded payment cards that can be worn around the neck.
Customers scan the QR code using familiar payment platforms such as SnapScan, Zapper, Apple Pay, or Samsung Pay. Earnings are then transferred via Standard Bank Instant Money Vouchers, which can be redeemed at ATMs or participating retailers.
What This Means
Street Wallet has already built a strong presence in Cape Town and Durban, but Johannesburg represents a strategic growth market.
After Durban, Johannesburg has the highest proportion of informal workers in the country, making it an important hub for fintech-driven financial inclusion.
For Plush, which has built a network of informal car washers across major cities, the deal is a game-changer for car guards, dry washers, and other informal workers operating in high-footfall zones.
“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.
Understanding Street Wallet’s Model
The partnership comes on the back of Street Wallet’s recent $350,000 capital raise in August, which valued the company at $2 million. The funding is earmarked for scaling operations across South Africa’s informal economy and deepening its footprint in untapped urban markets.
Earlier this year, Street Wallet also acquired Digitip, a QR code payment startup focused on digital tipping, as part of its strategy to consolidate its technology stack and streamline merchant onboarding.
Scholiadis believes the future of African fintech lies not only in mobile apps but in solutions that remove barriers for the unbanked.
For South Africa’s thousands of informal car washers, industry leaders say this innovation could be transformative. By reducing reliance on cash, workers gain safer access to their earnings, while customers benefit from the convenience of digital payments.
As informal economies continue to expand under the pressures of unemployment, experts note initiatives like this signal a future where digital finance is not just for the connected elite but for anyone earning a living on the streets.
Talking Points
It is notable that Street Wallet and Plush Car Wash has designed a payment system to work without smartphones or bank accounts, directly tackling one of the biggest barriers faced by South Africa’s informal workers.
This single innovation positions Street Wallet and Plush Car Wash as a practical solution for car washers, guards, and street vendors who operate in high-footfall areas but remain excluded from traditional fintech systems.
At Techparley, we see how such device-free, QR-based solutions can accelerate digital adoption in underserved communities, offering both security and convenience to workers who live hand-to-mouth.
The partnership between Street Wallet and Plush Car Wash shows how fintech and established consumer brands can collaborate to modernise everyday services while creating new entry points for financial inclusion.
Still, adoption will depend on how quickly workers and customers embrace the system. User trust, accessibility of cash-out points, and awareness campaigns will be critical to ensuring sustained uptake.
