The financial services sector in South Africa has been undergoing unprecedented transformation. Ongoing modernisation and rapid developments in digital technologies are disrupting the sector, as well as enabling change in previously disconnected sectors, such as banking, telecommunications and retail. This has given rise to new market entrants and solutions actively shaping the payments space.

Although this convergence is giving consumers access to services in a user-friendly way, there is no meaningful change in consumer behaviour. Cash is still king and trust in digital payments is still lacking.

In this report, Deloitte Africa and Mastercard explore how to enable this convergence further, reduce the reliance on cash and encourage the use of digital payment methods. This could further increase financial inclusion in South Africa and thereby achieve more inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

The report recommends four key levers for change to achieve this, focusing on: