INSIDE YOUR POCKET: South African Reserve Bank releases the Payments Study Report

Kaya Biz

GUEST – Tim Masela - National Payments System Department Head
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB), which operates, regulates and oversees the national payment system (NPS), has today published its inaugural Payments Study Report (study). The study, the first of its kind in South Africa, uses individuals’ payment data and provides extensive insight into how the public perceives and uses various payment methods and instruments on offer in the country.
The SARB’s multi-year strategy and framework for payments, Vision 2025, identified the need for the SARB to gather information on the use of the NPS and help deliver on its goal of transparency and public accountability. This information can be used by the central bank, other regulators, policy makers and payment service providers to better understand consumer behaviour as well as potential opportunities and risks in the payments landscape. The information contained in the study can also assist in the design and implementation of more convenient, efficient and safer payment instruments and methods for South African consumers and businesses.
The study, commissioned in 2023, supplements the payments information that the SARB already has access to through the domestic settlement system (the South African Multiple Option Settlement (SAMOS) system), retail payment systems and returns gathered from payment service providers such as banks and non-banks. Kaya FM