The South African Reserve Bank will start testing white-labelled ATMs in January. It is the first step in a plan to turn all of the country’s more than 30,000 machines into one shared, unbranded network.
Under the plan, transactions below a set amount would be free. Senior officials shared the details at a media briefing on Friday, TechCentral reported.
“We are asking banks to white-label all ATMs,” said Pradeep Maharaj, executive director of the Reserve Bank’s Payments Ecosystem Modernisation programme.
The central bank said it wants to set up a national cash utility by March 2027. It also plans to start bringing cash centres run by companies such as SBV and Fidelity into the Reserve Bank by the middle of that year.
“Our requirement is that all ATMs should allow deposits, withdrawals and balance enquiries and, below a certain amount, transactions must be free,” Maharaj said.
That would be a big change. According to the Reserve Bank’s cost of cash study, about 9,200 of the country’s roughly 30,600 ATMs are run by independent operators that do not take cash deposits. The study used data from 2024.
Maharaj also criticised what he called the “disloyalty fee”. This is the charge customers pay when their own bank’s ATM is out of order and they use another one.
The Reserve Bank first set out its plans earlier this year in a paper called Towards a Cash Smart Society. Maharaj said the banks have since offered other models. The Reserve Bank will go back to them in November, with the aim of rolling out next year.
Maharaj said the plan is about fair access, not about ending cash. He pointed out that Sandton City has more ATMs than the neighbouring Alexandra township.
“Cash is a public good and core to inclusivity,” he said. He added that a cashless society “does not exist and will not exist”. According to the study, cash is still used in 56% of consumer transactions by volume.
Arif Ismail, head of the Reserve Bank’s national payment system department, said there is about R180-billion in cash in the system. He said it costs about R90-billion a year to manage.
The study found that poorer people pay the most. Consumers earning up to R1,250 a month spend about 5% of their income on cash costs. People earning R20,000 or more spend about 1%.
The Reserve Bank said branches and ATMs in rural and low-income areas close first as digital payments grow. This leaves “cash deserts”, where people who rely on cash travel further and pay more.
Maharaj said the cost of cash would have to fall by at least 30% just for the system to stand still. He said the new model would bring that cost down.
The utility would join cash centres into one shared platform. The same notes would then be moved, counted and checked fewer times. Shared ATMs would be placed where people need them.
Maharaj said the utility will be fully owned by the Reserve Bank. A presentation in May suggested industry players could get a share in it, so the final setup may still change.
Ismail said the PayShap system handles about 60 million transactions a month. The target is 500 million a month by 2029.
Officials also said the National Payment System Bill will let non-banks carry out seven payment activities on their own from the middle of next year. “Banks are doing a great job, and will continue to do so,” Maharaj said.
Source: this article is based on reporting by TechCentral. Image: TechCentral. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.