Cashless payments jump on Covid disruption

THE COVID-19 pandemic is helping to accelerate cashless payments, which are set to double and even triple to 1.9 trillion transactions by 2030 from the current 1 trillion, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

It said in a statement yesterday that Africa’s sectoral growth volumes were set to trail only those of the Asia-Pacific region.

The Asia-Pacific region was expected to grow the fastest, with cashless transaction volume climbing by 109 percent until 2025 and then by 76 percent from 2025 to 2030.

It was followed by Africa, 78 percent and 64 percent; Europe, 64 percent and 39 percent; and Latin America, 52 percent and 48 percent. The US and Canada would have the least rapid growth: 43 percent until 2025 and then 35 percent from 2025 to 2030.

Chantal Maritz, the strategy and payments transformation lead Africa at PwC, said Covid-19 was a catalyst for change.

“We have seen the rapid deployment of payment services across Africa. Current market conditions have given rise to the need for more financial inclusion, as well as greater innovation and collaboration among financial services players.”

She said that South Africa, as an emerging market unencumbered by large amounts of legacy technology, had the potential to develop a modern payments infrastructure and a cutting-edge payment platform that places customers at the core.

In Africa, mobile operators and retailers were taking the lead in equipping customers with cashless means of payment. They were also playing a key role in bringing about financial inclusion and trust in digital payments, PwC said.