‘Swiping’ payments reach P120bn despite tight economy
Lewanika Timothy | Monday July 7, 2025 06:00
The local economy contracted by three percent last year, with the diamond downturn squeezing government revenues and triggering structural liquidity in the financial sector, a situation that has seen banks increasing their lending rates.
However, according to latest data released by the Bank of Botswana, the value of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) at Point of Sale (POS) was on a steady increase from the beginning of 2024 with the first quarter seeing total transactions reaching P21.4 billion rising to P33.5 billion in the last quarter of the year.
In the report, Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale refers to card-based electronic payments made at merchant terminals, using debit, credit, or prepaid cards. It captures the number and value of transactions conducted through point-of-sale machines across the country and reflects retail payment activity outside of cash and bank transfers.
The data shared by the central bank signals strong consumer spending behaviour and digital payment adoption in Botswana’s financial system, coupled with a vibrant retail sector.
The increase in the value of transactions did not happen in a vacuum, as the number of point of sale outlets, commonly known as swiping machines, nearly doubled from 8,953 in Q4 of 2023 to 16, 563 by the end of 2024, playing a pivotal role in accelerating the value of transactions.
A separate Bank of Botswana research bulletin published in February showed that Points of Sale Outlets (swiping machines) per 100,000 people increased from 184 in 2011 to 334 in 2023. Subsequently, average transactions made with cards increased from P255.1 in 2011 to P365.84 in 2023 showing that the country was crossing the chasm of digital payments with more and more transactions being done online.
The coming of mobile wallets which gives greater access to Batswana to participate in digital banking, has seen a jump over the years. The research bulletin by the central bank noted that mobile money agents also increased from 202 in 2014 to 6,928 in 2022.
EFTs have remained the dominant means of payment as shown by the proportion to total payments at 53% in 2023 according to the research paper.
During the same period, cash and cards were increasingly being used by consumers. This may be because consumers were weighing the costs of using EFTs against their convenience, especially for low-value transactions.