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SANParks goes cashless across several national parks

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 05 Aug 2021

South African National Parks (SANParks) says it will be introducing a cash-free payment method as it prepares to stop accepting cash from 1 September.

The body responsible for managing South Africa's national parks says it has signed a contractual agreement with a payment gateway company to offer online card payments (card-not-present) and speed point machine payments (card present) across 12 of its national parks.

According to a statement, the cash-free payment system will be implemented in a two-phased approach, with several parks implementing it from the 2021/22 financial year and the remaining parks implementing the system in the 2022/23 fiscal year.

For the second phase of the project, SANParks says it will implement an array of payment options including instant EFT,SnapScan, message notifications and other forms of electronic payments.

SANParks CFO Dumisani Dlamini says: "From 1 September, cash will no longer be accepted as a method of payment in some of the parks. SANParks clients will be encouraged to make use of pre-booking payment systems and/or speed point payment systems in parks. All trade and tourism activities will be cash free and therefore cash will not be accepted."

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,demandfor online and contactless payments has dramatically surged in SA, with many people opting out of making cash payments or using touch point-of-sale machines, amid fears of the spread of the virus.

The World Health Organisation has highlighted the importance of people washing their hands after the handling of cash.

According to Dlamini, withSANParks’ cash-free system, emphasis is placed on minimising the risks associated with the handling of cash by staff, but above all, improving customer convenience is key as the cash-free payment system will reduce the contact time at entry points, particularly during peak times.

"This will cut down on queueing time and increase the time for visitors to enjoy the parks.It is a step towards environmental responsibility and promotes ease of use; visit a cash-free park today and #LiveYourWild," notes Dlamini.

Out of a total of 20 national parks spread across the seven provinces of SA, with the exception of KwaZulu-Natal and North West, the national parks that are set to go cash free include: Garden Route (consisting of Knysna, Wilderness and Tsitsikamma); Agulhas, Richtersveld and Namaqua in the Northern Cape; Table Mountain, Tankwa Karoo, West Coast in the Western Cape; Mountain Zebra, Camdeboo, Addo Elephant in the Eastern Cape; as well as Mapungubwe in Limpopo and Golden Gate Highlands National Park in the Free State.

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