Media Coverage
Cash is still king in SA, says Lesaka’s Cash Connect
12 Dec 2023
By Business Day, Mudiwa Gavaza
Watch: Business Day’s Mudiwa Gavaza unpacks Lesaka’s take on the cash vs digital transaction landscape – and the importance of understanding customer needs and choice.
"It's important that retailers support customer choice by enabling shoppers to pay by card, with smart devices, or notes and coins," says Mark Templemore Walters, operations director at Cash Connect, a part of Lesaka's Connect Group. He explains that as much as 90% of transactions in SA are still settled with cash. Retailers need to continue to support cash transactions to avoid excluding people who don't have bank accounts or cards, as well as to maximise sales over the festive season”.
At a time when SA's financial services sector is fighting for more digital payments, Lesaka's Cash Connect is forecasting that cash will be the preferred payment method for transactions this festive season. According to Lesaka, cash remains the payment option of choice for most SA consumers, with peak trading periods such as the festive season seeing a sharp increase in the number of cash transactions that retailers need to handle. "It's important that retailers support customer choice by enabling shoppers to pay by card, with smart devices, or notes and coins," says Mark Templemore Walters, operations director at Cash Connect. He explains that as much as 90% of transactions in SA are still settled with cash. Retailers need to continue to support cash transactions to avoid excluding people who don't have bank accounts or cards, as well as to maximise sales over the festive season, he says.