Absa is scaling back over-the-counter cash services in its South African branches. Teller cash will remain available only at “selected branches”, as the bank pushes routine transactions to ATMs, self-service devices and, in future, local businesses acting as banking agents. The bank announced the changes on Thursday, presenting them as a modernisation of its branch,…
Outgoing Nedbank COO Mfundo Nkuhlu South Africa will not shake its dependence on cash until it fixes identity, outgoing Nedbank chief operating officer Mfundo Nkuhlu said on Tuesday, arguing that a working national digital ID is the precondition for pulling the country’s unbanked into the formal payments system. “The key requirement will be the advent…
Meta Platforms reported a staggering 91% drop in second-quarter free cash flow to $784 million, down from $8.55 billion a year earlier, as the financial burden of its massive artificial intelligence buildout mounts. The cash flow collapse, marking Meta’s lowest level since late 2022 when its Reality Labs division faced heavy scrutiny over $80 billion…
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Carlos Barria/Reuters Meta Platforms reported a 91% plunge in second-quarter free cash flow on Wednesday, underscoring the financial strain of the social media giant’s costly AI buildout amid an uncertain payoff. The Facebook and Instagram parent company reported free cash flow of US$784-million in the second quarter ended 30 June, down…
South Africa’s informal economy is heading for a wave of formalisation in which spaza shop owners become multi-store entrepreneurs and cash all but vanishes from the townships, according to Shop2Shop founder and CEO Peter Berry. Speaking on an investor call on Wednesday, hours after Pepkor announced it would merge its Flash business with Shop2Shop to…
Google parent Alphabet saw its business continue to grow in recent months, yet growing spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure put its leftover cash into negative territory. The company’s free cash flow, the cash it maintained after paying for operations and investments, came in at negative $5.9bn (£4.3bn) for the first time in at least…
The central bank does not see cash being removed from the economy. (Graphic made with GenAI) The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has shifted from viewing South Africa’s reliance on cash as an obstacle to building a modern, digitally-enabled economy, to treating cash as critical public infrastructure that must be actively protected and modernised. The…
Visa’s Lineshree Moodley South Africa’s consumers have spent the past few years ditching cash for taps, virtual cards and even payment rings. The country’s businesses, by and large, have not. That is the gap Visa is now targeting, announcing the local launch of Visa Commercial Pay in partnership with First National Bank and Rand Merchant…
SpaceX on Monday announced a senior unsecured notes offering and disclosed about $100.8 billion in cash. Shares of SpaceX fell 11% and headed for a third consecutive losing session. The space and artificial intelligence company plans to use the proceeds to pay off bridge financing and other general purpose needs. The filing didn’t disclose how…
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