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Cash in Transit in South Africa: Current Pressures and Reform Implications

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Introduction Cash remains a critical component of South Africa’s payments ecosystem. Given the current role of cash together with the continued acceleration of South Africa’s economy, it is timely that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has launched its Payments Ecosystem Modernisation Programme (PEM), and alongside this its Cash Smart Strategy. For context, it’s worth […]

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Recent consumer payments studies help to explain the comparative trajectory of cash and payments

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Consumer payments studies are one of the most widely used – albeit imperfect – ways of understanding changes in consumer payment behaviour. In the last month or so three such studies have been released looking at payments in notably different economies: Switzerland, Jamaica and Australia. Given the proximity of their release it provides an opportunity

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Transforming South Africa’s Cash System: a Conversation on Opportunities and Risks

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Introduction The South African Reserve Bank (SARB), as part of its ambitious Payments Ecosystem Modernisation Programme (PEM), is pursuing a “Cash Smart Strategy.” While the detail of the strategy is still emerging, early signals suggest it will be just as far‑reaching as PEM itself. Barry Röhrs, Malcolm Clingham, Scott Forster and Matt Sykes recently sat

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When the Status Quo Is the Risk: Rethinking Cash System Resilience

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Cash is often cited as a critical redundancy for national payment systems – a failsafe when digital channels are disrupted. But this assumption rests on a fragile foundation. While cash can, in theory, provide resilience, the infrastructure that supports its distribution – particularly the cash-in-transit (CIT) sector – is under acute and growing strain. Without

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S&P report on Australian banks – pointing to the right things, but who is asking the harder questions?

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There has been broad reporting of the latest S&P ratings report on the Australian banking sector, released this week. In particular, the report calls out political pressure on the sector. Two call-outs of note: We broadly agree with S&P’s analysis of these issues. They do, however, highlight a propensity by both politicians and to a

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