PODCAST | The fight to reduce physical cash in SA wages on

The opportunity to grow digital payments among small merchants in SA is the focus of this edition of Business Day Spotlight. 

Host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Anthony Usmar, head of acceptance at Nedbank. 

Usmar outlines efforts from SA’s financial services sector to increase digital payments among SMEs. This is part of a battle to reduce the use of cash in the economy. He says transitioning to electronic payments can reduce exposure to cash-related crimes, improve financial efficiency and access additional revenue streams.

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According to data from Mastercard, the annual value of card transactions in SA is about $125bn (about R2.2-trillion), growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 9% from 2024-2028.

While 96% of transactions among SA’s 1.5-million informal enterprises are still conducted in cash, there is a steady shift towards digital payments.

The banker highlights efforts to increase digital payments for SMEs; the reasons cash is still dominant in SA; the benefits and drawbacks of cash use; and the economic realities driving adoption. 

A key question asked during the session is about the challenges of enabling car guards to accept digital payments.

Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE Production. 

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