{"id":841024,"date":"2025-10-27T08:50:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T06:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=841024"},"modified":"2025-10-27T08:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T06:50:19","slug":"unlocking-south-africas-payment-revolution-through-smart-regulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/industry-news\/841024\/unlocking-south-africas-payment-revolution-through-smart-regulation\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlocking South Africa&#8217;s payment revolution through smart regulation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>By Johan Gellatly, Managing Director, MD of Altron FinTech and Vaughn Hechter, Head of Customer Services, NuPay and Delter, Altron Fintech<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>While the South African Reserve Bank&#8217;s (SARB&#8217;s) decision to embark on an inclusive robust review of the National Payment System (NPS) to allow non-banks and fintech\u2019s into the ecosystem is a game changer, we must be cautious not to overregulate as this may unintentionally stifle the very innovation we&#8217;re trying to unleash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/fintech.altron.com\/?utm_source=BusinessTech&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_term=October+2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click here for more info about Altron FinTech<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Rather, regulatory authorities should focus their efforts on what happens once money enters and leaves the South African digital transaction domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Opening up the National Payment System through the SARB&#8217;s Payments Ecosystem Modernisation (PEM) programme is a historic shift and is aligned with their Vision 2025 framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The programme enables non-banks and fintech\u2019s access to the NPS on equal terms to introduce innovation as never before, it will create solutions at cost-friendly price points, reduce cash dependency, and expand financial inclusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The result? Previously invisible people will now have access into the digital sector, allowing them to digitally transact safely and efficiently where they once relied on cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Removing cash from the system is a target under SARB\u2019s 2050 vision. This ambitious goal aims to bring unbanked and underserved communities into the formal digital financial system by making digital payments accessible and affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moving cash to the digital domain strengthens security through full traceability and improves compliance with anti-money laundering requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With every transaction tracked end-to-end, regulators can better detect and prevent financial crime, while the overall economy benefits from greater transparency and resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And digital or e-money is exactly the space in which non-banks and fintech\u2019s have found a niche, enabling that sector to flourish, grow and innovate as they will be able to apply for direct payment licenses to conduct activities like issuing payment cards, operating e-wallets, providing faster payment services, and enhancing their system operator or third-party payment provider services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This provides vast freedom to operate in areas previously reserved for banks within the SARB\u2019s regulated framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Direct access to the NPS accelerates everything. It enables faster deployment, quicker innovation, and lower costs by eliminating unnecessary margin contributing intermediaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With fewer endpoints to control, the compliance burdens drop, and market entry becomes easier and cheaper. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The result is a simpler, more efficient environment where new solutions reach consumers sooner and at lower cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The beauty of allowing non-banks and fintech\u2019s access to the NPS lies in how quickly new non-banks and fintech\u2019s can join the system \u2013 the infrastructure already exists, and in true South African fashion, consumers always make a plan for mobile platform connectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, the evolving payment landscape gives banks the opportunity to refocus on their core purpose: taking deposits and using those funds to support people and businesses and possibly partner with non-banks and fintech\u2019s to enhance their offering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The complex movement of money by the various parties is where non-banks and fintech\u2019s excel, creating opportunities to streamline processes, lower costs, and simplify transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This dynamic, benefits consumers most as it drives competition and efficiency that makes financial services work better for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The immediate opportunity lies with the underbanked rather than the unbanked, who are harder to reach due to lower financial and digital literacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emerging banks have demonstrated how providing an app with every new account can drive adoption, even if active use takes time to build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Targeting the underbanked enables lower pricing, faster access, and seamless digital experiences, creating pathways to extend services to more people and bring them into the formal financial system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, we must be cautious not to overregulate this transactional space. Instead, we should focus on safeguarding the start and end points by addressing cross-border risks through robust anti-money laundering legislation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>South African domestic payments are already well regulated, as evidenced by how South Africa\u2019s relative immunity to the fallout caused by the 2008 financial crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the entry and end points of transactions are well regulated, measured, governed and the flow of funds into and out of the system is properly understood, there&#8217;s no need for authorities to expand intervention in the processes that happen in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The changes we&#8217;re witnessing open real opportunities to improve how money moves and how people are served. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But success depends on striking the right regulatory balance. Adding unnecessary controls only creates complexity and slows innovation without improving trust and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we embrace this once in a lifetime payment revolution, let&#8217;s remember that the goal isn&#8217;t just technological advancement \u2013 it&#8217;s about creating a more inclusive, efficient, and secure financial ecosystem for all South Africans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SARB&#8217;s bold move to open up the NPS represents exactly the kind of forward-thinking approach we need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now it&#8217;s up to payment system participants to ensure that innovation, not over-regulation, defines what happens next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the South African Reserve Bank&#8217;s (SARB&#8217;s) decision to embark on an inclusive robust review of the National Payment System (NPS) to allow non-banks and fintech\u2019s into the ecosystem is a game changer, we must be cautious not to overregulate as this may unintentionally stifle the very innovation we&#8217;re trying to unleash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":841026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[18470],"class_list":["post-841024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-altron-fintech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841024"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":841033,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841024\/revisions\/841033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}