The South African Reserve Bank’s National Payment System Department published a draft consultation paper proposing a revised policy position and regulatory framework to increase interoperability across South Africa’s national payment system, citing persistent fragmentation from closed-loop payment systems, proprietary standards and limited faster-payment reach. The proposals focus on domestic payment systems, infrastructures, schemes and products, and exclude cross-border interoperability. The paper sets out recommendations to mandate wallet-to-wallet and bank-account-to-wallet interoperability for all stores of value within 12 months of a South African Reserve Bank directive, alongside mandatory agent interoperability with agent non-exclusivity and merchant interoperability. It also proposes mandating interoperability for domestic remittance providers, and requiring Real-Time Clearing and PayShap to interoperate at scheme and infrastructure levels, with remittances and other credit transfers connecting into faster payments and non-banks allowed to issue stores of value and participate directly in faster payments. Additional measures include mandated interoperability between faster payments and merchant acceptance infrastructure, mandating a move to a standardised QR code supported by a new QR code scheme, and developing an API harmonisation standard aligned to Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures standards (with API use not mandated but required to comply where used for interoperation). The paper also indicates a phased move toward wider adoption of ISO 20022 and envisages clearing arrangements via a payment clearing house. Comments are requested by 30 April 2025.

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