The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) operates, regulates, supervises and oversees the national payment system (NPS) and is responsible for policymaking. The SARB acts as an intermediary, or settlement agent, that enables financial institutions to make payments to each other. It operates the South African Multiple Option Settlement (SAMOS) system and the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system for the SADC region.
In South Africa, consumers and businesses have a choice of more than 18 different payment systems, ranging from low-value card transactions to high-value bond exchange payments. These payment streams all form part of the NPS and are managed by the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA), regulated and overseen by the SARB. The South African Reserve Bank ensures that all transactions that South Africans make are safe, efficient and settled in the SAMOS system. The SARB also implements measures to reduce systemic risk to the NPS, thus ensuring the stability of the country’s financial sector.
In 2018, the SARB published the National Payment System Framework and Strategy – Vision 2025, which sets out the goals and strategies for the national payments industry. These documents set out the roadmap to building a world-class NPS that serves the economy and people of South Africa. Payment systems must be capable of meeting the evolving needs of South Africans. The SARB expects consumers to have increased trust in and familiarity with electronic payment systems by 2025. To attain this vision, industry stakeholders should collaborate to ensure the safety, efficiency, integrity, transparency and accessibility of the NPS.
Promoting competition & innovation
Financial inclusion
Regional integration
Transparency & public accountability
Cost-effectiveness
Interoperability
Transparent regulatory & governance framework
Financial stability & security
Flexibility & adaptability
The national payment system (NPS) is a set of instruments, procedures and rules that enable funds to be transferred from one financial institution to another. This includes all the systems, mechanisms, institutions, agreements, procedures, rules and laws that come into play from the moment an end-user, using a payment instrument, issues an instruction to pay another person or a business, through to the final interbank settlement of the transaction in the books of the central bank. Financial institutions need arrangements to transfer funds between themselves, either on their own behalf or on behalf of their customers.
The NPS Act defines a payment system as “a system that enables payments to be effected or facilitates the circulation of money and includes any instruments and procedures that relate to the system.”
A payment system includes any payment system, clearing system or settlement system arrangement used in effecting a payment between a payer and beneficiary. The national payment system enables transacting parties to conduct transactions efficiently.
Payment systems are typically categorised into large-value payment systems (handling large-value, low-volume and high-priority payments) and retail payment systems (handling large-volume, low-value transactions). Payment systems are a vital component in enabling the settlement of obligations within the equities, bond, money market and derivatives exchanges. The national payment system encompasses the complete payment process.
The South African Reserve Bank Act 90 of 1989 (SARB Act) as amended and the National Payment System Act 78 of 1998 (NPS Act) empowers the SARB to oversee and regulate the national payment system. The NPS Act provides the legal framework for the SARB’s management, administration, operation, regulation and supervision of the payment, clearing and settlement systems in South Africa.
The settlement service is supported by a well-established legal framework primarily based on rules, operating procedures, contractual agreements, laws and regulations. The NPS Act provides that the SARB may designate a settlement system if such a designation is in the interest of the integrity, effectiveness, efficiency and/or security of the national payment system. The Southern African Development Community real-time gross settlement (SADC-RTGS) system has been designated as such a settlement system and therefore falls within the scope of the NPS Act.
Customers access the payment system as end-users for transaction purposes, while market participants use the system to provide end-users with payment services. Electronic payment instruments include debit cards, credit cards and electronic fund transfers (EFTs). There are different categories of service providers in the national payment system, including non-clearing banks, clearing banks, settlements banks, designated clearing systems participants, payment clearing house system operators, system operators and third-party payment providers.
The National Payment System Act 78 of 1998 empowers the SARB to designate settlement systems, as well as non-bank clearing system participants. However, only banks are allowed to participate in the settlement system, and must also be authorised by the Payment System Management Body (PSMB) and comply with requirements for participation in the Reserve Bank Settlement System. Clearing system participants, payment clearing house system operators as well as system operators require authorisation by the PSMB in order to participate in the NPS. Third-party payment providers have to register with the PSMBs through their banks
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The SARB and the banking industry were pro-active in their approach to include the South African rand in the continuous linked settlement (CLS) system. South African registered banks were encouraged to become members of CLS. Following a major collaborative effort, the rand became a CLS currency in December 2004.
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