{"id":877719,"date":"2026-10-11T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=877719"},"modified":"2026-10-10T10:25:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T08:25:47","slug":"south-africans-charged-r31-billion-to-keep-and-access-their-own-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/banking\/877719\/south-africans-charged-r31-billion-to-keep-and-access-their-own-money\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africans charged R31 billion to keep and access their own money"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africans are paying R31 billion in banking fees each year simply to deposit and withdraw their own cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was highlighted in the South African Reserve Bank\u2019s (SARB) Cost of Cash Industry Report 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report estimated that the total annual cost of cash to South African consumers is R88.5 billion when both direct and indirect costs are taken into account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of this amount, R17.7 billion is attributable to withdrawal charges, while another R13.3 billion is attributable to deposit charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, these fees amount to R31 billion that consumers incur when using cash. SARB said these costs are driven largely by transaction and cash access fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added that the estimated withdrawal charges of R17.7 billion represent 20% of total consumer cash costs, and deposit charges of R13.3 billion represent 15%, making up more than a third of the total cost to consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fees can also influence how people manage their money, particularly among consumers who rely heavily on cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A case study included in the report from Soweto highlighted the mistrust some consumers have about leaving money in a bank account. One resident explained why they preferred to withdraw cash rather than leave it in the banking system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet [the money] out of the bank and into my hands. The bank will cut my money (for example, through transaction fees), or a debit order will be processed, and my money is gone. It\u2019s safer in my pockets or [a] secret hiding place,\u201d the resident said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the R31 billion in banking fees is only part of the cost of using cash in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SARB estimated that consumers spend another R12.5 billion on transport to access cash. This includes expenses such as taxi fares and fuel incurred when travelling to ATMs or bank branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report said this represents \u201ca substantial direct expense, especially for rural and low-income consumers\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumers also face indirect costs <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When banking charges and transport costs are combined, direct consumer costs reach R43.5 billion, equivalent to 49% of the total cost of cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A further R27.8 billion is attributed to the time consumers lose when accessing and using cash. This is the largest single indirect cost identified by the report and accounts for 31% of the total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The figure included R19.5 billion in transaction and queuing time, and R8.3 billion in travel time to reach cash points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumers also indirectly bear some of the costs businesses incur when handling physical money. The report estimated these costs at R3.9 billion, or about 4% of the total cost of cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SARB said these costs are ultimately embedded in the prices of goods and services. Informal traders account for R2.3 billion of these costs, compared with R1.6 billion for formal retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also an opportunity cost associated with holding cash rather than keeping money in an interest-bearing account. SARB estimated that consumers forgo around R1.3 billion in potential interest each year as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The central bank said this cost is relatively small but remains \u201cnotable\u201d, as it reflects the opportunity cost of holding physical cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SARB added that over 45% of the total cost of cash is related to physical access and time lost, not just bank fees, especially for those far from banking infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bank noted that these findings highlight that accessing physical money can impose high costs on consumers, particularly those who rely on cash and live farther from formal banking infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africans are paying R31 billion in banking fees each year simply to deposit and withdraw their own cash.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":793230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2109207641306054661","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2233440970809635","_sma_instagram_post_id":"17874876462587014","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[961],"tags":[131,5623,20457],"class_list":["post-877719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banking","tag-banks","tag-cash","tag-south-african-reserve-bank-sarb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877719","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\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=877719"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":877854,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877719\/revisions\/877854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=877719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=877719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=877719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}