South Africa to democratise ownership of its 30,000 ATMs among its banks with plans to make room for smaller withdrawals free under new cash-access policy

South Africa’s central bank wants to change how people access cash, proposing shared ATMs that serve customers across banks and make smaller transactions free. The South African Reserve Bank outlined its implementation plans on 16 October, advancing a wider strategy to reduce cash-related costs and improve access in underserved communities.

as reported by Business Insider Africa, under the proposed model, participating machines would operate without individual bank branding and provide withdrawals, deposits and balance enquiries. The threshold for free transactions has not been announced.

The country has approximately 30,000 ATMs, but their distribution leaves some rural and lower-income communities with limited access. A shared network would allow the authorities and industry to coordinate where machines are needed.

Officials are targeting March 2027 to establish a national cash utility that would help reorganise the infrastructure used to handle and distribute physical money.ADVERTISEMENT

According to TechCentral’s reporting from the briefing⁠, a pilot of the shared machines is planned for January 2027. Discussions with banks are continuing, with the Reserve Bank expected to respond to alternative industry proposals in November.

“We are asking banks to white-label all ATMs,” Pradeep Maharaj, executive director of the Reserve Bank’s Payments Ecosystem Modernisation programme, said.

Why the central bank wants a shared network

The proposal addresses a costly feature of cash distribution: different institutions maintain overlapping infrastructure while some communities remain poorly served.

The Reserve Bank’s official Cash Smart strategy⁠ identifies duplicated facilities, transport costs and long journeys to cash-access points among the problems it wants to resolve.

Its plan includes consolidating wholesale cash infrastructure, coordinating distribution and introducing shared ATMs. The intention is to preserve convenient access as digital payments expand and the economics of maintaining cash services become more difficult.

Consumers could benefit from more than lower withdrawal charges. Better ATM placement could reduce the time and travel costs of accessing cash, especially in areas with limited access to nearby banking services. The extent of these benefits will depend on the final network coverage and pricing arrangements.

A new company to manage cash

Bloomberg also reported that the proposed utility would consolidate cash-management operations.

Maharaj said South Africa has about 109 cash centres, a number he wants reduced to no more than 50. Centralising parts of the system would aim to reduce repeated handling and overlapping distribution costs.

Cash still accounts for approximately 56% of consumer transactions by volume, according to the Reserve Bank’s research cited in the report. That makes affordable cash access relevant even as more customers adopt electronic payments.

The changes remain under development. Banks have not completed their discussions with the Reserve Bank, and the proposed free-transaction threshold has yet to be disclosed.

Customers’ existing ATM charges will continue to depend on their bank and account terms until any changes take effect.