According to the South African Reserve Bank, a new paper concludes there is no immediate need for a retail CBDC and instead recommends modernizing South Africa’s payments system to close identified gaps, with no retail CBDC rollout timeline provided (source: South African Reserve Bank, 2025 paper).

According to the source, the South African Reserve Bank identified crypto assets and stablecoins as a new financial risk in its latest financial stability report. Source: South African Reserve Bank financial stability report. The report also states that combined users across South Africa’s three largest crypto exchanges reached 7.8 million as of July, underscoring significant local participation that traders should factor into risk management. Source: South African Reserve Bank financial stability report.