François Groepe: The South African Reserve Bank's perspective on a changing and innovative payments environment

Address by Mr François Groepe, Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, at the Payments Innovation Conference, Johannesburg, 5 October 2017.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Fellow Deputy Governors, other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the first Payments Innovation Conference organised by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), which we are hosting in collaboration with domestic and international payments stakeholders. This conference takes place at an appropriate time as innovation and technology have the potential to spur growth and development.

According to EY's FinTech Adoption Index1, South Africa boasts financial technology (FinTech) adoption levels of 33%, which is in line with the global average. The survey respondents expect this type of adoption to increase to an average of 52% globally, with South Africa counting among the countries with the highest intended use among consumers at 71%.

The purpose of this conference is therefore to develop deeper insights into emerging innovations in the payments ecosystem, which we hope will provide a better understanding of regulatory frameworks, stimulate debate, and spur development within the payments space in support of our country's developmental objectives.