Banking has moved online for many South Africans, but it’s a tale of two experiences. Nearly 21 million – about a third of the country- use digital channels to pay bills in minutes, move money securely and track spending. Yet more than 40 million still rely on cash and branch visits, wasting time and transport money to make simple payments and missing out on the speed, security and everyday convenience that online banking delivers.
The disconnect is about usage. About 85% of adults in South Africa hold a financial account but having an account doesn’t mean using it digitally. In practice, consumer behaviour still reflects a cash-first economy.
Around 94% of account holders withdraw cash each month, and a third withdraw nearly all deposits immediately. More than half of mobile banking sessions are used only to check balances, while 52% of South Africans say they cannot operate an account without assistance. For many gig workers and informal earners, cash remains the default – a habit that reinforces exclusion.
The reasons are practical: cash carries no fees or bank charges, it works without an internet connection, and it doesn’t require a smartphone. It is simple, and familiar. For millions, handling cash is second nature, shaped by years of routine. That familiarity is hard to unseat. A digital option has to be just as easy to use, and genuinely more useful, before people will consider moving away from what they already know.
Mobile wallets remain a smaller part of the picture – around 11% of transactions, with 28% merchant acceptance – and only 8% of customers currently prefer them. Even so, with smartphones in almost every household, the potential for growth is clear. As wallets and mobile-first banking apps become more intuitive and easier to access, uptake should accelerate. We are already seeing how quickly behavior shifts when the experience works.
Proof that digital adoption works
Evidence from leading banks shows that simple, reliable digital journeys drive mass adoption. Capitec Bank, with 22 million clients, reports more than 11.2 million active app users, and says 83% of its transactions are now cashless.
TymeBank, launched in 2019, reached 10 million customers in six years, making it one of the fastest-growing digital banks globally and the first in Africa to reach profitability. Its model – no monthly fees, five-minute account opening and partnerships with more than 1,000 kiosks and 15,000 retail outlets – shows how embedding banking in everyday retail channels can deliver scale quickly.
These cases suggest that the demand for digital finance is strong, provided the experience is intuitive, transparent and integrated into familiar routines. The challenge is making that the norm across the sector, not just the success story of a few leaders.
What still holds people back
Three barriers continue to limit digital adoption.
Infrastructure as the enabler
Overcoming South Africa’s digital adoption challenges requires not only education but infrastructure that works. Banks and fintechs can’t close the gap if the tools they offer are slow, outdated or built on legacy systems.
People will only move away from cash if the other option obviously works better for them: in practice, it has to feel 10 times better. It needs to be quick to use, easy to follow and reliable when something goes wrong. It also has to feel straightforward, not like extra homework. If it does not make daily life easier than carrying notes, most people will stick with what they know.
Fortunately, modern, cloud-first issuing platforms can enable institutions to launch mobile-led card services at scale, with features designed around real user needs. They take care of the heavy lifting on security, compliance and integration so banks and fintechs don’t have to keep reinventing the same technology stack. Real-time alerts make it easier for people to see what’s happening on their account as it happens. Being able to change a PIN or freeze a card in the app also cuts out long support calls and puts routine fixes back in the customer’s hands.
For issuers, modern infrastructure means faster product rollouts, simplified operations and services that scale. By putting more control in customers’ hands, these platforms ease pressure on support teams and help digital banking become part of daily life.
South Africa’s progress in connectivity and account ownership shows the foundations are in place. The country has the networks, the devices and a growing set of digital banking offerings. The challenge now is turning that infrastructure into everyday habits. For banks and fintechs, that means building mobile-first services that people trust, understand and choose over cash. It also means finding business models and distribution strategies that meet people where they are and reflect how they live and earn.
Issuer innovation is central here. Platforms built for mobile card management, such as our recently launched PayoCard, make it possible to plug in compliant, self-service card features from day one, rather than rebuilding the core stack. That enables banks and fintechs to spend less time on the rails and more time shaping products, partnerships and channels that bring excluded customers into digital finance.
To move from near-universal connectivity to true digital participation, these tools must become standard. Digital finance has to be not only available but also usable – giving gig workers, informal earners, and first-time account holders a secure way to manage money on their phones. That’s how inclusion shifts from policy ambition to lived reality.
With a mobile phone in someone’s hand and the right rails behind it, banks and fintechs can reach millions more and truly level the playing field, turning access into dignity and choice, and giving people a fair shot at growth. Now that’s a future worth building.
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