{"id":849662,"date":"2026-02-03T09:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T07:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=849662"},"modified":"2026-02-03T09:47:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T07:47:31","slug":"standard-bank-dropping-cash-at-more-branches-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/banking\/849662\/standard-bank-dropping-cash-at-more-branches-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Standard Bank dropping cash at more branches in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South African banking group Standard Bank says it will make more of its branches cashless in 2026, as it adjusts to consumer behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group said it has registered declining cash usage among its clients in ‘certain areas’ and will adjust its branch services accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group repurposed some of its traditional branches in 2025 as part of a deliberate shift away from cash and to a more “modern and efficient” banking model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It hopes to accelerate this model in 2026, which includes the removal of in-branch Teller Cash Services in selected locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur customers are telling us very clearly how they want to engage with us. In many areas, cash usage has declined significantly, while demand for advisory-led, digitally enabled banking and complex servicing is increasing,” said Kabelo Makeke, head of Standard Bank Personal and Private Banking South Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our cashless branch strategy ensures we are investing where it matters most \u2014 in convenience, expertise, and better service, in locations closer to our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers who still require teller-based cash services will be required to do so at other branches that retain these facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bank said cash services will be consolidated into “strategically located centralised branches” where processing capabilities have been enhanced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added that alternative channels, such as ATMs and dedicated cash centres, will continue to offer options for deposits and withdrawals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Makeke said the transition is about choice, not exclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is about remodelling access points. We are ensuring customers can still transact in cash where they need to, while creating branch environments that are more relevant to modern banking needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cash is still king, but shifting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Standard Bank’s move comes amid a broader shift by the country’s major banks to focus on and facilitate digital banking and payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has led most banks to shut or shrink branches and cut back on ATM networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and digital payments group PayInc push for greater access to simplified, quicker and safer payment platforms like PayShap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, data shows that cash still dominates many South Africans\u2019 lives, and households are turning to alternative means to get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PayInc’s own Cash Index, launched in 2025, showed that cash supply and cash demand remain resilient in the country, despite easing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cash use is particularly strong for low-value transactions, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding inventories, data from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) shows that notes and coins in circulation have levelled off since 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At R180 billion in 2024, in nominal terms, it equates to about 2.5% of GDP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A significant caveat in the data is that, as banks have removed sources of cash and ways to get it (with fewer branches and ATMs), customers have turned to other means of withdrawal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This includes an influx of non-bank players that are now part of the ecosystem\u2014such as retailers\u2014making the flow and velocity of cash harder to track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to independent economist Elize Kruger, while major banks have been cutting ATMs, this does not necessarily point to a drop in demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInstead, it reflects the broadening role of non-bank providers, such as retail stores, in offering cash access, driven by shifts in the broader cash supply chain,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Standard Bank says it will make more of its branches cashless in 2026, as it adjusts to consumer behaviour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":711658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[961],"tags":[5623,499],"class_list":["post-849662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banking","tag-cash","tag-standard-bank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849662","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\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849662"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":849663,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849662\/revisions\/849663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}