The announcement that the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) has partnered with Sebenza Wi-Fi and Vodacom to bring free connectivity to thousands of taxis and buses is a landmark in the country’s digital inclusion journey.
Yet it also brings to the fore an uncomfortable truth: while our commuters can now stream music or access government services on the way to work, they still can’t reliably pay their fare digitally.
Meanwhile, in Kenya, commuters have been using mobile money like M-Pesa to pay taxi fares and even buy groceries for nearly two decades.
Why has South Africa lagged so far behind?
Kenya’s Early Bet on Mobile MoneyKenya’s leapfrog moment came in 2007 when Safaricom launched M-Pesa.
By focusing on low-cost mobile phones, agent networks in rural and urban centres, and consumer trust, mobile money became the backbone of everyday transactions.
Today, more than 90% of adult Kenyans use M-Pesa for payments, including taxi fares.
Importantly, Kenya’s regulatory authorities allowed the service to flourish by creating space for innovation before trying to impose rigid banking standards.
South Africa’s Missed Window
South Africa, by contrast, has leaned on its legacy banking infrastructure.
Instead of building inclusive mobile money ecosystems, the financial sector prioritised bank-issued cards, ATMs, and now app-based payments.
This approach entrenched exclusion: millions of South Africans remain unbanked or underbanked.
Cash still dominates the taxi industry because digital alternatives have either been too expensive, too complex, or simply not trusted by both drivers and passengers.
The Taxi Industry’s Unique Challenges
The taxi industry carries more than 15 million South Africans daily, yet it has long been regarded as informal, fragmented, and resistant to change.
Attempts to digitise payments often stumble over three blockages:
1. Trust and Familiarity: Passengers and drivers alike rely on cash because it is immediate and universally accepted. Digital systems require confidence that payments will not fail mid-ride.
2. Affordability: Data costs remain high, and 4G device penetration is low.
Vodacom’s own research, A Lifeline, Not a Luxury, notes millions are still stuck on overloaded 2G networks. Without affordable 4G handsets, mobile payments can’t scale.
3. Co-ordination and Regulation: With thousands of taxi associations operating semi-independently, introducing a standardised payment system has proven difficult.
Government has also been slow to create enabling policy frameworks for mobile money.
The Way Forward for the Eastern Cape and Beyond
If we want taxi passengers in the Eastern Cape to pay digitally, three steps are non-negotiable:
• Affordable Devices: Manufacturing low-cost 4G devices locally, as Vodacom’s report suggests, would drastically reduce the barrier to entry.
• Policy Shift: Regulators must let telecom operators and fintech innovators drive mobile money ecosystems, as Kenya once did.
• Taxi Industry Buy-In: Digital payment pilots should be designed with Santaco and local associations at the table, ensuring systems work for both commuters and drivers.
Wi-Fi in taxis is a good start; now we must integrate mobile payments into that ecosystem.
Conclusion: Turning Connectivity into Commerce
The taxi industry is not just a transport system; it is the veins and arteries that carry the nation's lifeblood to work and back.
Giving commuters free Wi-Fi is a leap forward, but until that comes with affordable devices, safe and user-friendly software, and industry co-ordination, cash will remain king.
South Africa does not lack the technology -- it lacks the trust and political will needed to replicate Kenya’s success.
Let's not let yet another decade slip by while our neighbours speed ahead.
Luvo Grey is MD at EC Internet in East London and national SG of lobby group Progressive Blacks in ICT.
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