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Economic recovery in South Africa

How Card Swipes Point to Economic Recovery in South Africa

Sourced from Htxt.Africa Following months of uncertainty, data from FNB shows that businesses are already seeing signs of recovery as card swipes at merchants point of sale devices rebound close to pre-pandemic levels. Purchases recorded on FNB Speedpoint devices show that transactions recorded in August, when the country moved to level 2 of lockdown, recovered to 93.2% compared to February this year. In the same month, merchant transactions recorded across six provinces were already above pre-pandemic levels, with Free State and Gauteng at 90%, followed by the Western Cape at 70%. Signs of recovery were already apparent in July when the country was still on level 3 of lockdown, where activity had recovered to roughly 86% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Gordon Little, CEO of FNB Business,...

Facebook and Instagram Introduce Gift Card Feature for South African Businesses

Instagram and Facebook are making it a little easier for South Africans to support local businesses in their communities thanks to the new gift card feature. Facebook has created this feature to help local businesses, such as restaurants, fitness studios, salons, bookshops and bakeries as they navigate their way through the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown. People can find offers from participating merchants through a “Support Local Businesses” ad in their Facebook feeds, a Gift Card button on merchants’ Instagram profiles or in Stories through the Gift Card sticker. Supporting small businesses and restaurants is an important part of Instagram’s community, which is why Instagram is also launching Food Orders, making it easier for businesses to get support from their customers throug...