South Africa plans to create a shared, unbranded ATM network, Banque Misr is considering increasing the portion of Banque du Caire offered in an IPO to 45%, Vodacom will retain control of its Safaricom stake while a Kenyan court appeal proceeds, and Ghana has launched a system to collect VAT on foreign digital services.

Banking

South Africa wants ATMs to become a shared national network

South Africa is not seeking to eliminate cash. Instead, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) wants to reduce the cost of accessing it by turning the country’s more than 30,000 automated teller machines into a shared, unbranded network.

Under the proposed model, small withdrawals, deposits, and balance enquiries would be free below a set limit, regardless of which bank owns the ATM. A pilot is scheduled to begin in January 2027. By March, the central bank wants to establish a national cash utility and then start incorporating cash centres operated by companies such as SBV and Fidelity by the middle of the year. The first white-label ATMs are expected before the end of 2027. Those dates make the pilot, the utility’s formation, and the rollout of the first white-label machines the main implementation milestones to watch.

At present, each bank operates its own ATM network, cash centres, and logistics. That creates duplicated machines, vehicles, routes, and vaults for moving physical money. SARB wants to pool much of this infrastructure and make ATM access function more like a national utility.

The cost of handling cash helps explain the proposed change. South Africa has approximately R180.65 billion ($10.9 billion) in cash in circulation, according to the SARB. The wider annual economic cost of using cash—including fees, travel, time, and crime-related losses—is estimated at nearly R90 billion ($5.5 billion). Cash represented about 56% of consumer transactions in South Africa, according to a Reserve Bank-commissioned study based on 2024 data, even as digital payment alternatives expanded.

Fewer cash transactions do not necessarily make ATM networks cheaper to operate. Machines, security guards, cash vans, and vaults continue to cost money. When those expenses are distributed across fewer transactions, the cost of each withdrawal rises. Rural and low-income areas are often the first places where banks remove machines.

A shared network could allow banks to avoid duplicating the same infrastructure while giving the central bank greater scope to place ATMs where access is most needed. The main challenge will be persuading banks to give up some control over machines they currently brand, price, and use to retain customers within their own networks.

If the model succeeds, South Africa may not have fewer ATMs. It may instead have fewer reasons for every bank to operate its own network.

Sources: TechCentral, SARB annual report, SARB cash position paper, and SARB cost-of-cash publication.

Capital markets

Banque du Caire may increase IPO stake to 45%

Banque Misr is considering selling up to 45% of Banque du Caire, Egypt’s sixth-largest commercial bank by assets, in its upcoming initial public offering. That would be an increase from the 30% stake announced on October 11.

Investment banks advising on the transaction recommended a larger offering after the bank’s roadshows attracted strong interest from investors globally. At Banque du Caire’s reported valuation of EGP 80 billion–EGP 80.5 billion ($1.5 billion–$1.51 billion), according to Asharq Business, a 45% stake would be worth between EGP 36 billion and EGP 36.2 billion ($670 million–$674 million). A 30% stake would be worth approximately EGP 24 billion–EGP 24.2 billion ($447 million–$451 million), assuming the shares are sold at that valuation.

Bloomberg reported on Sunday that the bank was seeking up to EGP 24.25 billion ($454 million) from a 30% sale and could increase the offering to 45%, depending on demand. A larger offering would exceed that target and make the transaction Egypt’s biggest listing in years.

The IPO has been a decade in the making. Egypt first announced plans to float 20% of Banque du Caire in March 2016. The bank’s shares were provisionally listed on the Egyptian Exchange in 2017, but the sale was delayed. A further attempt in 2020 was shelved after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global markets. Reuters reported on the 2020 postponement.

Banque du Caire itself will not receive the IPO proceeds. The offering consists entirely of existing shares owned by Banque Misr, the bank’s state-owned shareholder. A 45% sale would put approximately 6.86 billion shares into investors’ hands, compared with 4.58 billion under the current plan. Trading is expected to begin in November. The decision on whether to offer 30% or 45%, followed by the expected November trading start, will determine the size of the state-owned shareholder’s sale and the number of shares entering the market.

The larger offering would raise additional proceeds for the state and leave more Banque du Caire shares available for trading after the IPO, which could support greater stock-market liquidity. Increasing the sale in response to investor demand would also indicate that foreign interest in Egypt’s privatisation programme is returning.

Egypt’s stock exchange already has another major listing scheduled for the fourth quarter. MNT-Halan, the country’s first fintech unicorn, is expected to begin trading on October 20 after its floated shares were at least three times oversubscribed. The planned listing aims to raise $150 million, with broad participation from retail investors expected.

Telecoms

Vodacom retains Safaricom control while appeal continues

Vodacom, one of Africa’s largest telecommunications companies, will retain control of its Safaricom stake while a Kenyan court appeal proceeds. Safaricom operates M-PESA.

On October 13, Kenya’s Court of Appeal ordered that the existing position regarding the Safaricom shares and the $1.9 billion purchase price remain unchanged while it fast-tracks the appeal. Vodacom therefore remains the registered holder of the 15% stake it purchased from the Kenyan government.

Vodacom bought 15% of Safaricom from the Kenyan government and acquired another effective 5% from Vodafone, its subsidiary. The transactions increased Vodacom’s holding from 35% to a majority stake of 55%.

The deal has faced legal challenges from critics including broadcaster Tony Gachoka and academic Frederick Ogola, who argued that the government had not adequately involved the public in the decision. A court froze the transaction in March and unfroze it in June. In September, the High Court declared the transaction unconstitutional and ordered that the stake be returned to the Kenyan government. The judgment disrupted the state’s plan to use the proceeds to finance projects.

Because Vodacom remains the registered holder of the shares, it can continue exercising the rights attached to its majority stake. These include voting as a shareholder and participating in decisions that require shareholder approval. If the High Court judgment is upheld on appeal, Vodacom would lose the 15% stake purchased from the government and fall back to approximately 40%. The appeal will therefore determine whether the current ownership position becomes permanent or the government stake must be returned.

More details are available from TechCentral, TechCabal’s report on the High Court decision, and TechCentral’s earlier report.

Regulation

Ghana launches real-time VAT collection for foreign digital services

Ghana has launched a system for collecting value-added tax on foreign digital services, including services provided by Netflix, YouTube, and WhatsApp. The initiative is intended to increase tax revenue from digital transactions.

On October 15, Ghana introduced Real-Time VAT (RTVAT), allowing the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to collect VAT on qualifying digital services when customers pay foreign providers through Ghana-issued cards, mobile-money accounts, wallets, and other digital payment channels.

The system applies to non-resident companies selling electronic services to customers in Ghana. Covered services include streaming platforms, cloud storage, software subscriptions, online advertising, and digital marketplaces.

Ghana has required foreign digital-service providers to register for VAT since 2022. The GRA created an online registration and filing system for non-resident e-commerce businesses, requiring them to declare sales to Ghanaian customers and remit the taxes they collect.

RTVAT changes how the tax can be collected. When a Ghanaian customer pays an eligible foreign digital-service provider using a Ghana-issued card, mobile-money account, or wallet, the payment provider can identify the transaction, withhold the applicable tax, and send it to the GRA.

As of October 14, about 92 non-resident digital-service providers were registered on the tax collection portal, the GRA said. Approximately 100 others had either failed to collect the required taxes or had not remitted them. The authority previously estimated that an automated collection system could raise more than GH¢2.5 billion ($213 million) annually, compared with the roughly GH¢515 million ($44 million) it currently collects each year.

The GRA said RTVAT should not result in customers paying Ghanaian taxes twice when those taxes are already included in a service bill, such as a Netflix subscription. However, if a foreign provider previously failed to collect the required tax, the customer’s final bill could increase by 20%.

Banks, mobile-money operators, payment service providers, and other licensed payment processors handling the transactions must integrate with RTVAT. They are required to identify taxable transactions, collect and remit the correct amount, and reverse the tax when refunds or chargebacks occur. The rollout therefore places the payment providers, as well as the foreign platforms, at the centre of the collection process.

Sources: Ecofin Agency, Lawyard, BusinessGhana, and VATAbout.

Crypto tracker

The World Wide Web3

The supplied market table lists the following changes:

• Day: +1.94%
• Month: +8.23%
• Additional reported change: +4.12%
• Additional reported change: +1.79%
• Additional reported change: +3.17%
• Additional reported change: +3.33%
• Additional reported change: +4.13%
• Additional reported change: +9.07%

Data as of 06:54 AM WAT, October 16, 2026. The source text does not provide the corresponding coin names or current values.

Opportunities

Applications are open for Her Startup’s second cohort. The programme is accepting applications from women-led technology startups across Africa for its 2026/2027 accelerator programme.

Ten selected founders will receive 12 weeks of training, monthly stipends, mentorship, and an opportunity to access funding. Applicants must be women aged 18–35 who run technology-enabled businesses that have operated for at least six months and generate at least $500 in monthly revenue. Applications close on October 26. Further information is available at Her Startup.

Written by Emmanuel Nwosu and Yemi Kareem.

Edited by Emmanuel Nwosu and Ganiu Oloruntade.

Original source: TechCabal.