Enabling Financial Inclusion and Innovation in a Converging World

Partnerships Are Key To Driving The Future Of Inclusive Payments In South Africa says Mark Elliott, President of Southern Africa MasterCard. 

In this podcast, Africa.com CEO Teresa Clarke discusses the future of payments in South Africa with Mark Elliott.

The financial services sector in South Africa is undergoing an unprecedented transformation. Rapid developments in digital technologies are both disrupting and enabling change in previously disconnected sectors, such as banking, telecommunications and retail. These advancements make digital payments and services more readily accessible and affordable to consumers and small businesses, but the usage of such products will be subject to how well payments providers collaborate to meet their needs. This is according to a new Mastercard and Deloitte Africa report “The future of payments in South Africa: Enabling financial inclusion and innovation in a converging world” released today on the side-lines of the World Economic Forum on Africa. The report states that if we are to achieve meaningful financial inclusion in South Africa, private and public sectors must collaborate to reduce the reliance on cash and encourage the use of digital payment methods and financial services to achieve more inclusive and sustainable economic growth. It is not yet a reality, but several developments are providing encouraging indications of progress.

– Mastercard Deloitte Report