Payments

South Africa central bank announces framework for white-label ATMs

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June 25, 2026

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The South African Reserve Bank has announced plans to revamp its ATM strategy by providing white-label ATMs throughout the country. This is part of an overall plan called Cash Smart Strategy, announced in a position paper by the bank.

The strategy has three primary goals:

Reduce the cost of cash caused by "structural inefficiencies."
Provide "broad and equitable access to cash across urban and rural areas."
Ensure "ethical, secure and accountable stewardship of physical currency."

To that end, the bank aims to put in place a regulatory framework for independent ATM deployers and all those involved in the cash ecosystem. This framework will be used to expand white-label ATMs, not owned by the central bank, as well as license non-bank entities to provide this cash, such as IADs.

"White-label ATMs are recognized under the Cash Smart Strategy as an important access mechanism for sustaining cash availability, particularly as traditional bank-owned ATM infrastructure is rationalized," the bank stated in the position paper. "WLAs are envisaged as part of a utility-coordinated access layer that facilitates geographic rebalancing, improves reach in underserved areas and reduces the time and travel costs borne by cash-reliant users. Detailed deployment, funding and operational arrangements will be addressed through the regulatory framework and supporting instruments."