Before the Covid-19 outbreak, cash transactions dominated the informal sector who were often excluded from financial services due to inaccessibility or a lack of personal need for digital payments. Particularly, community sellers and rural SMEs relied on cash transactions to fuel their businesses.
While news outlets are perpetuating the idea that Africa is moving towards digitizing currency and a cashless society, the trends that have led to this forecast are based on the response to a global pandemic. Furthermore, misinformation has fuelled these trends, having a severe impact on the use of cash during this period. However, as a continent, Africa is dependent on cash and lacks the infrastructure for digital payments. Trends that appear during this period are unlikely to have a significant impact on transactional habits of a whole continent that is notably dependent on cash in many areas. Despite promises from Mastercard, trends during this period should not be used in the rhetoric of pro-cashless debates.
