What SID Secure EFT is

SID Secure EFT (styled “SiD” by its owners) is a South African instant EFT payment method. Instead of typing in card details, you pay from your bank account by logging in to your own internet banking during checkout. The merchant, in this case a bookmaker, gets confirmation straight away, so your deposit can be credited without you emailing proof of payment.

The service is run by Setcom (Pty) Ltd, which was bought by the payments group Direct Pay Online (DPO) Group in December 2017. According to SID’s own website, shoppers do not pay or register to use it.

How a SID deposit works

SID describes the payment flow in five steps:

1. Choose SID at the bookmaker’s deposit page and select your bank.
2. Log in with your normal internet banking details.
3. Choose the account to pay from, if you have more than one.
4. Enter the one-time PIN (OTP) your bank sends you, or approve the notification in your banking app.
5. The payment completes and you are sent back to the bookmaker.

DPO’s SID brochure lists support for ABSA, FNB, Nedbank, Standard Bank, Capitec, TymeBank, Investec and Bidvest, and says merchants get an instant guarantee of funds. If you bank elsewhere, SID may simply not be an option for you.

SID compared with Ozow and Capitec Pay

From the punter’s side, SID and Ozow feel almost identical. Ozow also needs no registration, only an internet banking profile, and lets you pay from savings, credit or cheque accounts, with payments completed in about a minute. Capitec Pay is different: Capitec says you start the payment with your cellphone number, ID number or account number and approve it in the Capitec app, without sharing card details or your banking login.

The practical difference is availability. Most of the licensed bookmakers we review list Ozow, and many list Capitec Pay. SID is listed far less often, so building your betting around it limits your choice of bookmaker.

One thing to note with any bank-login method: you type your internet banking password on a payment page. Only do this through a licensed bookmaker’s own cashier, never through a link sent by email, SMS or WhatsApp.

Licensed bookmakers that list SID

Of the licensed South African bookmakers we review, Playabets (licensed in Mpumalanga) lists SiD among its payment methods, alongside Ozow, Capitec Pay, bank EFT, cards and vouchers. That makes it easy to switch to another method if SID is unavailable for your bank.

Scores out of 10 from our reviews. 18+ only. Always confirm the current terms on the bookmaker’s own site. How we rate

Practical alternatives to SID

• Ozow (instant EFT): the same bank-login idea with much wider support. See our Ozow betting sites guide.
• Capitec Pay: the simplest choice if you bank with Capitec, approved in your app with no login on a third-party page.
• Bank cards: debit and credit cards are listed by most of the bookmakers we review. See Mastercard betting sites.
• Standard EFT: slower to reflect, but widely listed and paid straight from your bank. See EFT betting sites.
• Vouchers: pay cash at a till and keep your bank out of it entirely. See voucher betting sites.

Whichever method you choose, set a deposit limit in your bookmaker account before you start, and only bet money you can afford to lose. If betting stops being fun, the National Responsible Gambling Programme offers free, confidential counselling on 0800 006 008.

Frequently asked questions