Abela - the money app

Abela

About this app

Welcome to the money app! Available to everyone, NO bank account required! Sign up and get verified in minutes.
Sign Up Quickly and Easily
Joining Abela is painless and hassle-free. All you need is a phone number; your SA ID, passport, or asylum papers; and your best selfie! That’s it! We're one of the best banks for foreigners, but we work great for locals too!
Send Money Freely to Your Friends, Family, or Anyone with an SA Cell Number
Remember when you needed your friends to help you out? Link your contact book and pay them back instantly at no cost, even if they are not an Abela user!
Top Up Your Account Easily
You can top up your Abela account easily and quickly via EFT, OTT, 1Voucher, Ozow, Masterpass, SnapScan, and Zapper. You can also top up at any Pick n Pay nationwide or link an existing debit/credit card!
Get Paid Instantly
Are you running a business and hate the hassle of cash? Get paid instantly without a card machine - all you need is your smartphone and Abela!
Receive and Make Bank Transfers
Need to pay into a bank account, but you don’t have one yourself? No worries! We got you! Simply enter their details and we take care of the rest.
Withdraw Your Money Conveniently
You can withdraw your money from Abela at any time via an EFT, Instant-EFT, from any ATM, or at any Pick n Pay!
Buy Airtime, Electricity, Vouchers and Much Much More!
Get cheap airtime for yourself, or send it to a friend. Send airtime to over 150 countries. You can buy everything from your water, electricity, data, airtime, and much more! We offer you a wide variety of products and services that you can enjoy!
Send Your Money Home with Mukuru, Mama Money, Sikhona, EcoCash, ClickSendNow
Looking to send money to Zimbabwe or other destinations across the continent? No problem! It'll happen in a matter of seconds at no additional cost!
Shop Online and Offline
Want to shop online or offline? Pay by scanning your Zapper, SnapScan, or Masterpass QR code and the best part is, it’s completely FREE! Get those goodies!
Earn with Abela
Share your Abela referral code and earn for each friend who joins Abela, gets verified and loads a minimum of R100.
Get your Abela Debit Card
Shop, swipe, tap in-store or online.
FAQ's:
Can I get a bank account as a foreigner?
-Absolutely! All you need is a valid ID document (Passport or Asylum Seeker document). You do not need an SA work permit!
Can I send money to Zimbabwe from South Africa?
-Yes! Abela is the cheapest way to send money to Zimbabwe in USD.
Can I pay for DSTV?
-Yes! Simply enter your account number, ID or Smart ID and proceed to pay. No additional fees.
Can I get cheap airtime?
-Indeed you can! Enjoy cheap airtime and share it with your friends and family.
Stay tuned
Abela is growing rapidly. Keep updated on the latest features, deals and new promotions on our social media:
Instagram: @abela.app
TikTok / Twitter: @abela_app
Contact us at: [e-mail]
Abela.app is an offering by Abela iMali (Pty) Ltd (2020/491145/07) in association with Nedbank Ltd (1951/000009/06), an authorized FSP and credit provider.

Ratings and reviews

Too bad when it comes to logging in, has lost my phone recently I'm trying to log in, it's been 3 days now keeps saying network error, when I spoke to one of the agents, told me it's the network from my area, how can a network be so bad for 3 days, and he's telling me to update the app, how can I update the app while it shows it's up to date.

Just want to say abela thank you for introducing bank cards. It really saves our time. I tried using it several times and it's working well, swiping makes life easy and quick. Thumps up guys. I love using abela never have any problem with it This is a very good and nice app to us, it makes you life easier you dont have to move around with cash, all u need to do is to use your phone to do everything. Im so happy to you abela because it accommodate everyone. Using abela you wont go wrong.

I like it the application is user-friendly so much more fuctions to choosè from .l am not impressed its almost February and its a bank without a physical card .Deposit charges are too much .once you send cash out tokens to someone they're forced to register we need to withdraw cash from any atm Cash Express atm are hard to find was gonn rate 5 stars

What's new

-Improved Proof of Payments
-Improved Card Replacement
-Performance Improvements
-Minor Bug Fixes