What would happen tomorrow if we could turn SA into a cashless society with a wave of a magic wand? Far from turning the country into a crime-free paradise of low transaction costs and widespread financial inclusion, it’s more likely that chaos would reign in many communities as millions of South Africans found themselves financially excluded and unable to transact.
As we debate the noble aspiration of achieving financial inclusion in our country, going cashless is often presented as the mechanism through which financial inclusion will be achieved. Yet digital payments are not a panacea for financial inclusion for the simple reason that reliance on cash, or any digital payment mechanism for that matter, is not the root cause of why people are financially excluded in SA.
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As we debate the noble aspiration of achieving financial inclusion in our country, going cashless is often presented as the mechanism through which financial inclusion will be achieved. Yet digital payments are not a panacea for financial inclusion for the simple reason that reliance on cash, or any digital payment mechanism for that matter, is not the root cause of why people are financially excluded in SA.
Read more
Why Cashless Economy means social exclusion
