{"id":880253,"date":"2026-10-18T08:14:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T06:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=880253"},"modified":"2026-10-18T08:14:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T06:14:49","slug":"bank-cards-are-disappearing-in-south-africa-and-south-africa-spends-r80-billion-on-fuel-imports-in-5-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/880253\/bank-cards-are-disappearing-in-south-africa-and-south-africa-spends-r80-billion-on-fuel-imports-in-5-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Bank cards are disappearing in South Africa, and South Africa spends R80 billion on fuel imports in 5 years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The South African rand strengthened in early trading on Friday as the dollar weakened. Investors are focused on next week\u2019s medium-term budget for insights into the country\u2019s fiscal outlook and credit-rating prospects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rand was trading at 16.4450 against the dollar, approximately 0.3% stronger than its previous close. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was down about 0.2%, setting the dollar on track for its first weekly decline in five weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investors will be paying close attention to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana\u2019s medium-term budget policy statement next week for indications of South Africa\u2019s fiscal trajectory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are expectations of an improving budget balance and a more favourable ratings outlook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was up about 0.2% in early trading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa\u2019s benchmark 2035 government bond was slightly firmer, with the yield falling 1.5 basis points to 8.69%. [Reuters<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, 18 October 2026, the rand was trading at R16.49 to the dollar, R21.97 to the pound, and R18.53 to the euro. Gold is trading at $4,165.58, while oil prices were at $109.9 a barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 important things happening in South Africa today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Bank cards are disappearing in South Africa:<\/strong>\u00a0In 2026, South Africa’s banks saw a rapid growth in digital wallets and virtual cards, enabling transactions without physical cards. FNB reported a 47% increase in transaction values for virtual cards this past year. [MyBroadband<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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South Africa spends R80 billion on fuel imports in 5 years:<\/strong> Due to declining refining capacity and high fuel import costs of nearly R80 billion over the past five years, the government has developed a petroleum sector development plan to enhance national fuel security. [BusinessDay<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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R1.5 trillion industry making South Africans lose money:\u00a0<\/strong>A report shows that online gambling in South Africa surged by 390% from 2021 to 2025, driven by mobile accessibility and advertising. In the 2024\/25 financial year, about R1.5 trillion was wagered in the sector, with nearly 75% of it placed online. [DailyInvestor<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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South Africa’s lagging economic growth:\u00a0<\/strong>The latest IMF data show that South Africa’s growth is significantly behind Sub-Saharan Africa’s. In 2026, South Africa’s projected growth is 1%, compared to Sub-Saharan Africa’s 4.5%. [Newsday<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Warning to people using WhatsApp:<\/strong> Recent cases have emerged in which cybercriminals have taken over WhatsApp accounts and contacted users\u2019 contacts to request money. [BusinessTech<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five important things happening in and affecting South Africa on Sunday, 18 October 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":742925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"failed","_sma_x_autopost_error":"Instagram publishing failed: Instagram returned HTTP 400: Media ID is not available","_sma_x_post_id":"2111702595752395247","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2240903243396741","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-880253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-5-things","tag-5-important-things-happening-in-south-africa-today","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880253","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\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880253"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":880255,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880253\/revisions\/880255"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/742925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}