This week’s Moneyweb@Midday – winner of Best Internet Show at the 2025 Telkom Radio Awards – offered a powerful triptych of modern South African life. The conversations moved beyond headlines to reveal the interconnected forces reshaping daily routines, personal safety, and financial access. From the data on our dinner plates to the risks in our security details and the potential revolution at our ATMs, three distinct stories collectively paint a picture of a society in rapid, pragmatic adaptation.
The New Domestic Economy: Delivery Apps as Social Architects
Cassie Jaganyi of Uber Sub-Saharan Africa presented data showing that Uber Eats has evolved from a luxury convenience to a core utility for urban South Africans. This isn’t just about ordering takeaway; it’s a fundamental shift in time management and consumption. The platform now acts as a real-time barometer for lifestyle changes:
- Behavioral Shifts: Late-night orders point to changing work schedules and the ‘always-on’ economy. The growing volume of grocery deliveries indicates a strategic outsourcing of domestic labour—people are buying back time previously spent shopping.
- The ‘Super-User’ Phenomenon: The emergence of highly frequent users suggests a new class of consumer for whom delivery is a default, not a decision, reshaping retail loyalty and marketing.
- The Unshakeable Reign of Comfort: The persistent dominance of fried chicken in every major city is a telling cultural insight. In times of economic and social stress, comfort food remains a non-negotiable expenditure, revealing what consumers truly value.
Fried chicken remains the dominant favourite in every major city, confirming comfort food as the most powerful—and resilient—trend in local cuisine.
Jaganyi’s key insight was that this is a behavioral revolution, not just a logistical one. Delivery platforms are forcing retailers to reimagine inventory and service, while consumers recalibrate the value of their own time. This data is a goldmine for understanding urbanisation, disposable income allocation, and the rise of the convenience economy.
You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.
A Sector in Crisis: When Private Security Becomes a Private Threat
The assassination of DJ Warras brought a grim and systemic issue to the fore. Chad Thomas, an organised crime investigator, delivered a stark warning: parts of South Africa’s massive private security industry have been compromised. The line between protector and predator is blurring, with criminal networks establishing ‘personal militias’ under the guise of legitimate VIP protection services.
Thomas said this has in some instances created personal militias that blur the line between security service and organised crime, effectively weaponising the tools of the trade—firearms, uniforms, and authority—for illicit ends.
Thomas framed this not as an isolated incident but as a symptom of chronic regulatory failure. The industry, which often acts as a parallel police force, suffers from weak oversight and vetting. The consequences are profound: it erodes public trust, complicates policing, and creates a shadow market for violence. His call for stringent reform—including centralised firearm control, mandatory integrity testing, and a national registry of officers—highlights the urgent need to professionalise a sector upon which millions rely for safety.
You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.
Banking’s Structural Shift: The Case for a National Cash Network
Looking to the future, Professor Jannie Rossouw of Wits Business School analysed a potentially transformative proposal from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB): a single, national network of white-label ATMs. This move would see branded bank machines replaced or supplemented by a shared, utility-like infrastructure.
The rationale is rooted in financial inclusion and cost:
- For Consumers: It promises lower transaction fees and greater geographic access, particularly for low-income and rural users for whom cash remains king. It tackles the ‘ATM desert’ problem in underserved areas.
- For the System: It modernises the costly cash-handling ecosystem for banks, potentially reducing duplication of infrastructure. It aligns with global trends towards interoperability, as seen in countries like the UK and Canada.
- The Trade-off: As Rossouw noted, this could dampen bank competition at the retail level and impact a traditional revenue stream (interchange fees). The success of the model would depend on robust governance to ensure fair pricing and maintenance.
This proposal is more than an ATM upgrade; it’s a recognition that access to physical cash remains a critical public good in a digitally divided society, and that its provision may need to be treated as such.
You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.
The Common Thread: Adaptation and Access
Together, these three segments reveal a South Africa navigating complexity through adaptation. Citizens are using technology to buy time (Uber Eats), grappling with the failure of the state to guarantee security, and witnessing a potential central bank intervention to guarantee financial access. Each story, in its own way, is about how South Africans are accessing the essentials of modern life—convenience, safety, and money—in an evolving and often challenging landscape.
Moneyweb@Midday returns on the 5th of January 2026.
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