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South Africa just isn’t attempting to kill money. It is attempting to make utilizing it cheaper.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) desires the nation’s greater than 30,000 automated teller machines (ATMs) to become a shared, unbranded network. Small withdrawals, deposits, and stability enquiries could be free beneath a set restrict, regardless of which financial institution owns the machine.

What occurred? A pilot begins in January 2027. By March, the central financial institution desires to create a nationwide money utility, then start folding money centres run by corporations similar to SBV and Fidelity into that system by mid-year. The first white-label ATMs are anticipated earlier than the top of 2027.

Explain like I’m new right here: Today, every financial institution runs its personal ATM community, money centres, and logistics. That means duplicated machines, autos, routes, and vaults, all transferring bodily cash round. SARB desires to pool a lot of that infrastructure and make ATMs work extra like a nationwide utility.

The economics clarify the urgency. South Africa has about R180.65 billion ($10.9 billion) in cash in circulation, in line with the SARB. The broader annual financial price of utilizing money—together with charges, journey, time, and crime-related losses—is estimated at nearly R90 billion ($5.5 billion). Cash accounts for about 56% of consumer transactions in South Africa, in line with a Reserve Bank-commissioned examine utilizing 2024 as its base 12 months, whilst digital fee alternate options expanded.

Between the traces: Fewer money transactions don’t robotically make ATMs cheaper to run. The machines, guards, money vans, and vaults nonetheless price cash. When these prices are unfold throughout fewer transactions, every withdrawal prices extra. Rural and low-income areas are often the primary locations the place banks minimize machines.

A shared community flips that mannequin. Banks cease duplicating the identical infrastructure, whereas the central financial institution can place ATMs the place entry is most wanted.

What to look at: The tough half will likely be getting banks to give up some management over machines they at the moment model, worth, and use to maintain prospects of their banking networks. If the mannequin works, South Africa won’t have fewer ATMs. But it’s going to have fewer causes for each financial institution to have its personal.

Egypt could make one of its largest upcoming listings even bigger.

Banque Misr is considering selling up to 45% of Banque du Caire, Egypt’s sixth-largest industrial financial institution by belongings, in its upcoming preliminary public providing (IPO), up from the 30% announced on October 11. Investment banks engaged on the deal advisable the bigger sale after roadshows drew sturdy investor curiosity globally.

Here’s a easy back-of-napkin maths: At Banque du Caire’s reported valuation of EGP 80 billion–EGP 80.5 billion ($1.5 billion–$1.51 billion), according to local publication Asharq Business, a forty five% stake could be price between EGP 36 billion–EGP 36.2 billion ($670 million–$674 million), in contrast with EGP 24 billion–EGP 24.2 billion ($447 million–$451 million) for 30%. 

Those figures assume the shares promote on the reported valuation. Bloomberg reported on Sunday that the financial institution was searching for as much as EGP 24.25 billion ($454 million) from a 30% sale and will enhance the stake to 45%, relying on demand. The bigger provide would take Egypt previous that focus on, turning into the nation’s largest itemizing in years.

Catch up: This IPO has been a decade within the making. Egypt first announced plans to drift 20% of Banque du Caire in March 2016. The financial institution’s shares had been provisionally listed on the Egyptian Exchange in 2017, however the sale was delayed. Another try in 2020 was shelved after COVID-19 hit international markets.

Another vital element: Banque du Caire won’t obtain the cash. The IPO completely consists of present shares owned by Banque Misr, its state-owned shareholder. Selling 45% places about 6.86 billion shares into traders’ palms in contrast with 4.58 billion beneath the present plan. Trading is predicted to start in November.

Between the traces: Going bigger does greater than elevate additional money for the state. It leaves extra Banque du Caire shares out there for traders to commerce after the IPO, which might assist make the inventory extra liquid. More importantly, growing the sale as a result of traders requested for extra would sign that international urge for food for Egypt’s privatisation programme is returning.

Zoom out: Egypt’s inventory alternate already has a powerful line-up for This fall. MNT-Halan, the nation’s first fintech unicorn, would start buying and selling on October 20, after its floated shares were at least three times oversubscribed. The deliberate itemizing goals to boost $150 million, with large retail traders’ participation anticipated. With Banque du Caire taking up the next month, there’s so much of pleasure in Egypt proper now.

In June, Vodacom, one of Africa’s largest telecom corporations, bought a majority stake in Safaricom, the operator of M-PESA. Four months later, a Kenyan court docket mentioned it ought to undo the sale. Now, the shares stay in Vodacom’s custody because the authorized battle over who will get to maintain them strikes to the subsequent spherical.

What occurred? On October 13, Kenya’s Court of Appeal ordered that the current position across the Safaricom shares and the $1.9 billion buy worth stay unchanged whereas it fast-tracks the enchantment. That means Vodacom stays the registered holder of the 15% stake it purchased from the Kenyan authorities.

Explain like I’m new right here: Vodacom purchased 15% of Safaricom from the Kenyan authorities, plus one other efficient 5% from Vodafone, its subsidiary, taking its stake from 35% to a majority of 55%. However, the deal bumped into authorized hassle. 

Critics, together with broadcaster Tony Gachoka and educational Frederick Ogola, challenged the sale, arguing that the federal government had not correctly concerned the general public within the resolution. The court docket froze it in March, then unfroze it in June. In September, the High Court declared the transaction unconstitutional and ordered the stake returned to the Kenyan authorities, throwing a spanner within the state’s plan to finance initiatives from these proceeds.

What’s the state of Safaricom’s possession? Because Vodacom stays the registered holder of the shares, it could actually proceed exercising the rights connected to its majority stake, together with voting as a shareholder and taking part in choices that require shareholder approval. If the High Court judgment survives the enchantment, Vodacom would lose the 15% stake it purchased from the federal government and fall again to roughly 40%.

Ghana is trying to enhance income, and taxing prospects on the international digital providers they use—similar to Netflix, YouTube, and WhatsApp—is one technique.

On October 15, the nation launched Real-Time VAT (RTVAT) that lets the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the nation’s taxman, acquire value-added tax (VAT) on qualifying digital providers when prospects pay international suppliers via Ghana-issued playing cards, cell cash accounts, and different digital fee channels. 

The system applies to non-resident corporations promoting digital providers to prospects in Ghana, together with streaming platforms, cloud storage suppliers, software program subscriptions, internet advertising, and digital marketplaces.

Explain like I’m new right here: This didn’t begin at this time. Ghana has required foreign digital service providers to register for VAT since 2022. The GRA created an online registration and submitting system for non-resident e-commerce companies, requiring them to declare their Ghanaian gross sales and remit the taxes they acquire. 

However, Ghana can’t ship a tax officer to a supplier’s workplace month-to-month to examine whether or not the precise VAT was paid. Under RTVAT, when a Ghanaian buyer pays for an eligible international digital service utilizing a Ghana-issued card, cell cash account, or pockets, the fee supplier can determine the transaction, withhold the relevant tax, and ship it to the GRA.

Why is Ghana doing this? The GRA mentioned that as of October 14, about 92 non-resident digital service suppliers had been registered on the tax assortment portal, whereas about 100 others both failed to gather the required taxes or haven’t remitted them. The authority beforehand estimated that an automatic assortment system might elevate greater than GH¢2.5 billion ($213 million) yearly, in contrast with roughly GH¢515 million ($44 million) a year it at the moment collects.

What modifications for customers? If your Netflix invoice already contains Ghanaian taxes, the GRA mentioned RTVAT mustn’t make you pay them twice. However, if a international supplier beforehand didn’t acquire the required tax, your remaining invoice might now rise by 20%. 

Zoom out: Banks, cell cash operators, fee service suppliers and different licenced fee processors dealing with these transactions should combine with the RTVAT system. They should now appropriately determine taxable transactions, acquire and remit the correct amount, and reverse the tax when refunds or chargebacks occur.

The World Wide Web3

Source:

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$82,086	+ 1.94%	+ 8.23%
Ether	$2,445	+ 4.12%	+ 1.79%
XRP	$1.33	+ 3.17%	+ 3.33%
Solana	$105.83	+ 4.13%	+ 9.07%

* Data as of 06.54 AM WAT, October 16, 2026.

Written by: Emmanuel Nwosu and Yemi Kareem

Edited by: Emmanuel Nwosu & Ganiu Oloruntade