The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) says South Africans effectively pay a R12 billion “robbery tax” each year because cash is stolen, mugged or otherwise taken in crime.
The figure comes from the SARB Cost of Cash Industry Report 2026, which puts the total annual consumer cost of using physical cash at R88.5 billion. Roughly half of that amount, R43.5 billion, is classified as direct cost, the rest as indirect cost.
Direct costs include bank fees that total R31 billion a year, R17.7 billion for withdrawals and R13.3 billion for deposits, plus R12.5 billion spent on travelling to ATMs or bank branches. The travel cost covers taxi fares, fuel and other transport expenses.
Indirect costs are less visible. The report estimates R27.8 billion is lost to time: R19.5 billion while people wait in queues and R8.3 billion travelling to cash points. Retailers and informal traders add about R3.9 billion by passing cash-handling costs onto prices, and consumers forfeit R1.3 billion in interest they could have earned if the money had stayed in an interest-bearing account.
People earning between R0 and R1 250 a month spend about 5 % of their income on these cash-related costs, while those earning more than R20 000 a month spend about 1 %.
The security problem also hurts businesses. A case study in the report describes a national retailer in a low-income area that stopped accepting cash after repeated armed robberies. Because many local customers do not have cards, the retailer saw sales fall by more than a third.
Cash-in-transit (the movement of physical currency by security firms) adds another R6.95 billion to the cost picture, while the industry moves roughly R2.8 trillion in cash each year.
Access costs vary widely. The report finds a bank branch costs about R1.53 for every R100 handled, an ATM about R0.68, and a till cash-back service, where a retailer gives cash back at the point of sale, only R0.12.
Despite the expense and risk, cash remains popular. About 40 % of South Africans say they will still prefer cash for future payments, rising to 65 % for taxi fares, 66 % for spaza shops (small informal retail outlets) and 68 % for informal traders.
To reduce the cost, the SARB recommends expanding till cash-back services, increasing shared ATMs in underserved areas and encouraging shared cash-transport and storage infrastructure. The aim is to make cash safer and cheaper for both consumers and businesses.
For more on how cash costs affect the economy, see our Regulatory & Policy coverage.
