Smarter Cash Coming to South Africa

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has announced plans to modernise how money is circulated, accessed, and managed in the country with the largest overhaul of its cash system in decades. Through its Cash Smart Strategy (CSS), part of its Payments Ecosystem Modernisation (PEM) Programme, it intends to create a cash-management company, roll out white-label ATMs, and tighten oversight of cash distribution, aiming to make the system cheaper, safer, and more accessible.

The context for the new strategy is that, while digital payments have grown, cash still accounts for 62% of transactions volumes in South Africa, with more than R180 billion ($10.7 billion) circulating across Africa’s most industrialised country.

The logistics and handling of cash cost the economy R30 billion annually and the cash value chain from production (SARB), logistics and cash-in-transit (CIT) operators, to banks, ATM networks and retailers is complex and exposed to high security risks, with total costs estimated at R89.6 billion per year (2024 data)1. Of this, roughly 13% is accounted for by crime.