Fintechs to access South Africa’s payments system from mid-2027
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Scrolla
The South African central bank plans to allow licensed non-bank companies to access the national payments system directly from mid-2027. The rules are due to be published in November, before the first licences expected around March 2027, to strengthen competition and reduce costs, according to the South African central bank.
The South African Reserve Bank plans to allow licensed non-bank companies to connect directly to the national payments system from mid-2027. The opening should enable financial technology companies, mobile network operators and retail chains to transfer money without going through a bank, according to the Reserve Bank’s payments modernisation programme.
The rules are due to be published by November and companies are expected to obtain their licences around March 2027, before the planned launch in mid-2027. They will have to comply with operating, customer funds protection and reporting requirements to the Reserve Bank, Pradeep Maharaj, the programme’s head, said.
The reform aims to increase competition and reduce costs, but it guarantees neither free transactions nor an immediate fall in bank fees. Maharaj said that payments below a threshold should be free, without specifying the threshold. The central bank governor, Lesetja Kganyago, recalled that prices would continue to be set commercially by providers.
The Reserve Bank also plans to test QR+, a QR code usable by banking applications and payment providers, in the first quarter of 2027. According to Maharaj, the system could enable small retailers and car guards to accept digital payments free of charge. The instant payment service PayShap has processed more than one billion transactions, with a total value exceeding 1,000 billion rand, since 2023, Kganyago said.
Summary produced with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under AFREEQUE’s editorial responsibility.
