Kganyago: Cash remains king in SA but ‘crown slipping’
While South Africans can now make payments with
their cell phones or even smart watches, cash remains king, according to
Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago.
He was speaking at a conference in Johannesburg.
He revealed that most South Africans still view cash as the easiest and cheapest payment option available.
"It is the most used payment method in our survey. Cardless payments were far down the list. But as we noted in our digital payment roadmap, South Africans are over-reliant on cash.
"Even though most South Africans have bank accounts now, many still withdraw all their money as soon as it lands in the accounts."
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However, Kganyago told the 2024 Payments Conference that despite cash's reign, the crown is slipping.
"Last year, notes and coins contracted by 0.8%, the largest fall in records going back to 1960. If cash was still growing as fast as it did last decade, we would have an extra R60 billion or so of notes and coins in circulation. This missing money shows a changing payment landscape."
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