Notes on Regulation of Branchless Banking in South Africa

The South African government has taken an active role in creating regulations to facilitate the development of bank-based branchless banking. For example, banking authorities successfully took a proportionate regulatory approach to applying anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) standards. By lowering the documentary evidence needed to open an account, while capping transaction limits on such accounts, South Africa became a model in how to address financial security concerns while allowing low-income individuals greater access to financial services.