The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has issued a new position paper assessing the feasibility of a retail central bank digital currency, concluding that South Africa does not currently have a strong policy case for pursuing a national rollout.

The finding follows several years of experimentation under SARB’s Fintech Programme, including Project Khokha for wholesale settlement and participation in the BIS-led Project Dunbar on multi-CBDC cross-border payments.

SARB said ongoing modernisation within the National Payment System is addressing many of the efficiency and inclusion challenges a retail CBDC was originally expected to solve. The launch of PayShap, continued work on instant-payment interoperability and reforms linked to the National Payment System Act are seen as higher priorities for strengthening retail payments and expanding digital access.

The central bank noted that South Africa’s payment infrastructure is comparatively advanced, with high levels of electronic-payment usage and strong private-sector innovation.

As a result, the incremental benefits of a retail CBDC remain uncertain, particularly in areas such as consumer protection, financial inclusion and operational resilience, where SARB believes regulatory reform and industry upgrades may deliver more immediate impact.

While SARB will continue to monitor global developments in CBDC design and maintain the capacity to respond if national requirements shift, it emphasised that no decision has been taken to proceed with a retail implementation. Future considerations will depend on advances in cybersecurity, interoperability standards and cross-border payment frameworks, as well as domestic policy needs.

South Africa remains active in wholesale digital-currency research through the Project Khokha series and its work with the BIS Innovation Hub. But for retail users, SARB’s stance points to an incremental approach centred on strengthening the existing payment ecosystem, rather than introducing a retail digital currency in the near term.