Tag: FinTech

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and National Treasury published the draft Crypto Asset Manual for Cross-Border Activities for public comment on 3 August 2026. This marks a watershed moment for South Africa’s crypto asset holders and South African Authorised Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs). For the first time, cross-border crypto transactions will face a comprehensive regulatory framework with the force of law.

South Africa’s next wave of credit growth will come from a generation that is digitally fluent, economically active, and increasingly reliant on credit to navigate rising living costs. Yet, this generation remains largely invisible to traditional credit systems. According to TransUnion, only 28% of South African Gen Z consumers over the age of 18 are credit active. This highlights the challenge lenders face when assessing first-time borrowers.

South Africa's payments ecosystem has evolved rapidly over the past few years. At the point of sale, a consumer can tap or insert a card, open a banking app and make a PayShap transfer, scan a QR code, or split the purchase across three interest-free instalments using PayJustNow or Payfex. They can also tap their phone to pay via digital wallet.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer something financial institutions are preparing for. It is already embedded in how decisions are made, how products are designed and how risk is managed. Whether through fraud detection, algorithmic trading, customer engagement or compliance monitoring, AI is steadily reshaping the financial services sector.

Connecting to a real-time payment rail is the straightforward part. Delivering an experience that genuinely feels instant is where the real work and the competitive advantage lie. There is plenty of excitement about real-time payment rails at the moment. Most of it is justified. Moving money in seconds rather than days changes what a business can offer the people it serves.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) cannot grow without access to funding, and South Africa needs its SMEs to grow. What needs to change in the middle? The frame for South Africa’s economic growth in 2026 is one of modest recovery. The National Treasury’s 2026 Budget Review projects real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of around 1.6%. The World Bank echoes these figures, at 1.4%, and expects growth to increase to 1.5% by 2027.

Businesses are expanding across borders. New trade corridors are emerging. Regional ambition also remains strong. However, liquidity, payment and execution challenges continue to shape the reality of doing business across Africa. Six months into 2026, African trade is growing, but it appears to be telling two stories at once.

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority's (FSCA) call for a centralised anti-fraud hub at its 2026 conference reflects a timely recognition that South Africa's financial institutions (FIs) cannot successfully fight financial crime in isolation. However, centralisation alone is not enough.

The National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) updated statement on the Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations has moved South Africa’s crypto regulation debate into a more practical phase. Just as importantly, Treasury and SARB have clarified that the draft regulations are not intended to criminalise the possession of crypto assets or apply retrospectively.

South Africa should carefully assess how short-term instalment products are interpreted before Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) data shapes access to mainstream credit. The country could risk turning BNPL into a product that shuts people out of mainstream credit rather than helping them into it. This could happen if BNPL data enters credit-scoring systems that were never designed to interpret this type of product fairly.