High fees, gaps in consumer education and friction related to ease of use are just some of the factors holding back the adoption of South Africa’s PayShap payments platform, especially in lower segments of the economy where cash still dominates.
PayShap, introduced in 2023 to facilitate rapid, low-cost payments in South Africa, lags behind similar initiatives in other emerging markets, including UPI in India and Pix in Brazil.
Anton van der Merwe, head of PayShap at BankservAfrica, which developed the platform, said that although market differences between the countries – South Africa, Brazil and India – have contributed to variations in outcomes, new features and lower costs could…
Rainfall: Most of the country receives less than 600 mm of rainfall annually, with
the eastern regions being wetter.

Disco Thunder
Fun South African Fact: It’s believed that Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain is one of the oldest mountains in the world. Table mountain is approximately 260 million years old; it’s also home to thousands of species of plant life, including species unique to the Cape Floral Region. The glorious mountain is one of the world’s 7 New Natural Wonders. It is also apparently one of 12 main energy centres on the planet emitting spiritual, magnetic, and electric energies. It’s an idyllic and very popular hiking destination with hundreds of routes to explore.
Phoenix Sparrow
Olympic sailing competition just finished. France got the gold, South Africa got the silver, and … Somalia got the boat.