A free app shows pensioners across South Africa which businesses near them give a pensioner discount, and on which day…
RippleCard (ripplecard.co.za/app) lists more than 1 000 specials, 976 of them specifically for pensioners, in over 240 towns in all nine provinces. Since it went live on 23 September 2026, about 1 700 phones have used it.
The specials range from big national offers to the small local places pensioners rely on: the coffee shop with a pensioners’ breakfast, the butcher with a Tuesday discount, the hairdresser, the pharmacy, the caravan park with long-stay rates. More than 120 of them were sent in by pensioners themselves, in reply to posts in community Facebook and WhatsApp groups. Small local businesses are shown first in each town, ahead of the large chain stores.
“Pensioners should not have to hunt for these savings,” says founder Benn Pieters from Durban. “Many businesses already give older customers a little extra, but the information is scattered. RippleCard puts it in one place, town by town and day by day, so you can open it in the morning and see what is on today.”
The app is free for pensioners and needs no sign-up. It works on any smartphone and can be added to the home screen like an app. Pensioners can set reminders for their favourite specials and tell RippleCard about specials it does not have yet.
Businesses can claim their listing, or pay from R99 a month to appear at the top of their town’s list with their logo and their own wording. 15% of proceeds paid by businesses go to the Ripple Fund – which buys groceries and essentials for pensioners who are struggling. The fund is not a registered charity, each donation is handed over in person and the till slips are kept. Free for pensioners, no sign-up: ripplecard.co.za/app
