For more than a decade, musician Thomas Nhassavele has been busking next to the parking payment machine at Johannesburg's Rosebank Mall, where drivers often dropped their change into his guitar case.
But Nhassavele's takings have dwindled in the past year or two as growing numbers of mall visitors use cards to pay at the machine's new cashless payment system — some mumbling a quick apology to him before they head for the exits.
While analysts say the cashless move has boosted sales for small businesses, those dependent on loose change — buskers, street traders or fuel station attendants who rely on tips — say the shift has hit their earnings. This lays a strong foundation for cashless payments, said Michael Thomson, creative director at SnapScan, a contactless QR code payment system that caters to 70,000 merchants across the country, and has 3 million downloads.
“Although digital payments don't require a bank account, such street vendors, buskers and beggars would require a digital store of value that holds their digital money to make and accept payments,” she said. That could include a bank-linked e-wallet.
“There should be an option on the card machine that asks them if they want to add a tip for us, it's less awkward than us having to ask them,” he said, sipping a drink at a table behind the petrol station during his break. Both Yoco and SnapScan say car guards — people who watch over parked cars to ensure they are not stolen — who have bank accounts have begun giving drivers the options of cashless Yoco and SnapScan payments.