Understand PayShap, payment costs and the practical changes that faster bank transfers can bring to South African consumers and small businesses
Managing money can involve information scattered across several institutions. A person may have a transaction account in one place, another financial product elsewhere and a budgeting spreadsheet that depends on manual updates. Open finance explores whether customers can authorize useful sharing of their financial data across services under an appropriate framework. The attraction is convenience … Read more
A financial idea can be technically possible before its place in the regulatory system is clear. A company may demonstrate a working application while still needing to establish which activities it performs, which authorities oversee them and how customers should be protected. That uncertainty is especially important when a service combines functions that were previously … Read more
A convincing banking scam does not always begin with an obviously suspicious message. It may begin with a caller who sounds calm, knows a few personal details and claims to be preventing fraud. The pressure arrives when the person is asked to act immediately: reveal a code, approve a request or follow instructions that cannot … Read more
A customer has chosen a meal, a haircut or a repaired pair of shoes. The work is done, but the sale pauses at a familiar question: can I pay by card? For a small business, the answer depends on more than willingness. Someone must arrange a payment service, carry the necessary equipment, keep it connected … Read more
Much of financial technology is easy to see. A person opens a banking application, scans a payment code or receives a notification. Other developments take place in the systems that institutions use to move money and assets between themselves. Project Khokha belongs to this less visible part of South Africa’s financial technology story. The project … Read more
A customer finishes shopping at a weekend market and points a phone at a small printed square beside the till. The interaction looks simple. Behind it are several separate questions: which application reads the code, how the payment is authorized, how the seller confirms receipt and when the proceeds reach the business bank account. QR … Read more
For a small business, receiving money is part of delivering the service. A repair shop needs payment before releasing a repaired appliance. A home baker needs a deposit before purchasing ingredients. A trader needs yesterday’s proceeds to buy today’s stock. When a payment is difficult to make or slow to confirm, the inconvenience travels through … Read more