Cash is Key to a Resilient South African Economy

From real estate to the informal economy, much of South Africa runs on cash, and despite the rise of cashless options, the resilience and simplicity of physical money is likely to see its popularity continue in the foreseeable future.

Writing for South African news site Independent Online, property and multimedia journalist Bonny Fourie says ‘many people believe cash is still king’ and casts doubt over whether the nation would truly benefit from cashless dominance.

She cites the example of Woolworths announcing its WCafé would be going cashless, which met with fierce backlash on social media, with many people saying they would no longer visit and would also not support any retail or hospitality outlet that rejected cash. One user on X summed up the sentiment, saying: ‘No cash, no customers.’ While Woolworths has declined to reverse course, it was quick to point out ‘customers will still be able to pay for food, fashion, beauty and home purchases with cash if they choose.’

With power outages common across South Africa—often in the form of planned outages ‘aimed at preventing a complete collapse of the strained electricity grid’ referred to as load-shedding—the resilience of cash has a special relevance. Its usability offline and without electricity means transactions can continue in the absence of power and internet.

While the country has ‘a sophisticated payment infrastructure’, many also favour cash even for larger transactions, with John Jack, Chief Executive of Galetti Commercial Real Estate noting ‘the cash economy in South Africa cannot be underestimated,’ and adding that auctions for cash retail properties remain popular.

There is also the informal economy, which runs entirely on cash since the majority of its traders lack bank accounts. Alongside this, many workers depend on tips to augment their salaries, and while these can be accommodated within cashless payments, workers feel the ideal future will see cash and cashless coexisting.