South African banks, in the next month, will halt electronic fund transfer (EFT) services to Namibia, eSwatini, and Lesotho, restricting clients from transferring money to these Common Monetary Area (CMA) countries. From September 4th, EFT services will be unavailable to South African customers wishing to send money electronically to these key Southern Africa Development Community
Women’s Month is a time to pay tribute to women in all sectors of society. It’s an opportunity to honour the incredible achievements of women and a time to focus on, and redouble, efforts at promoting the upliftment of women. While efforts to ensure that equal rights, equal access and equal opportunities for women, span
As of 30 September 2024, low-value electronic funds transfers (EFTs), debit and credit payments made between Common Monetary Area (CMA) countries, namely Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa, will be treated as cross-border transactions and subject to greater due diligence requirements. Previously, these low-value retail payments were treated as domestic payments, with the four CMA
Standard Bank is actively reducing its ATM presence across South Africa by introducing more efficient “new technology ATM devices” with higher capacity to better serve clients. In recent years, South Africa’s major banks have been reducing their physical footprint as customers increasingly adopt digital transaction channels. This has led to a reduction in the size
The South African debit order landscape has undergone significant transformations to enhance security and efficiency. Central to this evolution was the introduction of the DebiCheck debit order system. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) dictated the implementation of a new payment stream in the early morning processing window where authentication by the payer occurs prior
By Nicole Dunn, Co-founder and COO of Precium CrowdStrike, a leader in cybersecurity solutions, experienced a major service disruption due to a technical glitch in their cloud-based infrastructure. This unexpected downtime lasted for approximately 14 hours, leaving numerous businesses grappling with the fallout. Payment processing services were among the hardest hit, as many financial institutions
Avanti Communications (“Avanti”), a leading global multi-orbit provider of fully integrated connectivity services and solutions, has undertaken a satellite connectivity test with BankservAfrica, Africa’s largest automated clearing house with Capitec Bank, one of South Africa’s top retail banks. The successful completion of this connectivity test heralds a movement towards greater transactional security. It underlines the
InstaPay, a cutting-edge new merchant application, has been launched to transform the payments landscape in South Africa. This innovative solution offers unique functionality and competitive rates that surpass traditional card providers, setting a new standard in the industry. InstaPay is the result of combined expertise and technology between Omnea and Amber Pay, two industry leaders
As the world of finance evolves into the digital age, businesses now have the luxury of choosing platforms that offer convenience and efficiency in managing their finances. Companies dealing with clients in other markets can opt for digital payment systems for cross-border transactions, which promote speed, safety and cost savings. Africa is experiencing an increase
The World Bank estimates that small businesses constitute 90 percent of all businesses worldwide. In sub-Saharan Africa alone there are 44 million small businesses, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accounting for 60 percent of jobs. In South Africa there are approximately 3.2 million SMEs, which make them the backbone of the economy with a
