How to read a South African prepaid token slip line by line
That little till slip from the spaza shop, the bank app or the supermarket has more information than most people realise. Here's every line decoded — including the deductions you can dispute.
How to read your prepaid token slip
Whether you bought your token at Shoprite, FNB, Pick n Pay, the spaza on the corner, or Prepaid24, the slip layout is broadly the same — STS regulates what must appear. Here's what each line actually means.
The header
- Vendor name and till ID. This is the legally accountable seller of the token. If something goes wrong, this is who you go back to first. - Date and time. Some municipalities reject very old tokens (7 days), so don't sit on a token for more than a week. - Meter number / point-of-supply ID. Always check this matches the meter on your wall. Tokens are tied to a single meter and cannot be transferred.
The financial breakdown
| Line | Meaning | |---|---| | Cash tendered | What you paid at the till | | Service / vendor fee | The vendor's mark-up — typically R3–R10 (always charged on small purchases) | | Bank / app fee | If you used a banking app — typically R3 fixed | | Net to electricity | The amount actually converted into kWh | | Less arrears | Other municipal debt (rates, water, refuse) being deducted | | Less FBE recovery | Only on certain municipalities and only if you're flagged as indigent | | Units bought | The kWh that will load onto the meter | | Block 1 / Block 2 / Block 3 | How those units are split across the inclining block |
If the arrears line is unexpected, you can ask the municipality for a written breakdown — they are required to provide one. If the vendor fee is more than R10 on a R200 purchase, find a cheaper vendor — see our [vendor comparison](/vendors).
The token itself
- A 20-digit number, sometimes printed as four groups of five. - Type the digits exactly as printed; the meter will reject typos. - If your slip has two extra 20-digit numbers above the credit token, those are Key Change tokens for the KRN rollover. Enter them first, in the order printed, before the credit token.
When the slip and the meter disagree
The slip is the legal record. If the meter rejects the token but the slip says "R200 / 65 kWh", take the slip back to the vendor first. If the vendor refuses, escalate to the municipality with the slip in hand.