CAPE TOWN – Consumers in South Africa’s top economic hubs continue sending the most money via eWallet services, as the country leans more towards being a cashless society.
FNB said in a statement on Tuesday that Gauteng outperformed all the provinces by sending over 42 percent of eWallet funds during the 2019 festive period.
Completing the top three was KwaZulu-Natal with 12 percent and Western Cape with 7 percent. In total, the bank’s customers sent nearly R3 billion worth of eWallet funds over the festive season, recording a 20 percent spike in comparison to the same time in 2018.
Gauteng alone accounted for more than R1bn worth of eWallet transactions followed by KwaZulu-Natal with over R300m and Cape Town with close to R200m.
FNB consumer chief executive, Christoph Nieuwoudt said the bank was extremely impressed that consumers continued to use the most efficient ways to send money to family and friends. “It comes as no surprise that Gauteng took the lead in send-money transactions as it’s known as the country’s economic hub and has a highly economically active population.”
This further demonstrates how safe and convenient the service is to our customers, Nieuwoudt said.
The global shift towards a cashless society presents a huge opportunity for mobile wallets, with millions of people using this payment method. Mobile wallets wiped out the need for carrying money while reducing the chances of theft or losing currency.
These conveniences are expected to continue driving the impressive market growth, in both consumer and the business segment.
According to data gathered by LearnBonds.com, the entire mobile wallets market is set to become one $1trn worth industry this year, growing by a massive 36.5 percent year on year. The strong rising trend is forecast to continue in the following years with the entire market reaching $2.1trn value.
Leading online international money transfer company WorldRemit predicts that 2020 will be the year of intra-African remittances.
The World Bank already estimates that migrant workers within Africa send remittances in excess of $14 billion dollars each year, and in 2018 intra-African remittances represented 20 percent of global remittance flows according to Ecobank Group.