South Africa plans white-label ATM rollout from 2028 as Sarb advances cash utility

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Highlights

South African Reserve Bank will establish a cash-management company by March 2025, consolidating 109 cash centres to 40–50 and compensating acquired entities.
Sarb targets deployment model for white-label ATMs in 2025 and will begin rollout in 2028 to improve access and reduce transaction costs for underserved communities.
Managing physical cash costs nearly R90 billion annually; Sarb aims to boost digital payments via PayShap to 500 million monthly transactions by 2029, up from 60 million.

Cash utility and ATM transition plan

As reported by Moneyweb, the South African Reserve Bank plans to establish a cash-management company by March next year and use it to consolidate parts of the country’s cash-handling network. Pradeep Maharaj, executive director of the Sarb’s Payments Ecosystem Modernisation Programme, says the process includes setting up a governance structure, appointing directors and starting the transfer of Sarb and industry cash centres into the new utility.

The central bank says entities whose assets are taken over would either receive compensation or shares in the new company. South Africa has about 109 centres that store, process and distribute cash, but Maharaj says the system likely needs only 40 to 50.

Sarb also wants to finalise the deployment model for white-label ATMs next year, with rollout starting in 2028. The bank is discussing with lenders how some machines can be converted into neutral-branded ATMs that customers from different banks can use for balance inquiries, withdrawals and deposits, with some services offered free of charge.

Cost pressure and payments modernisation

Cash remains a major part of South Africa’s payments system, with about R180 billion in physical currency circulating in the economy and about 56% of consumer transactions by volume still made in cash. The country has about 30,000 ATMs, yet many low-income and rural communities remain poorly served and often face costs as much as five times higher than wealthier urban users.

Managing, moving and securing cash costs almost R90 billion a year, a burden ultimately borne by consumers. Sarb sees the reforms as one of the biggest changes to cash circulation since ATMs were introduced more than 40 years ago, and it is also reviewing how ATMs should be located and what operating models work best.

Alongside the cash overhaul, the central bank aims to lift digital payment use to 15 transactions per person per month from one per person, bringing South Africa closer to other emerging markets. It plans to do that partly through wider adoption of PayShap, the real-time payments platform it owns with commercial lenders, and wants monthly transactions on the system to rise from 60 million to 500 million by 2029.

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