The South African PayInc Economic Index (PEI) declined in June due to higher inflation. This is a preliminary estimate as official consumer and producer inflation data will only be published in late July.
PayInc Economic Index Reflects the value of all electronic transactions cleared through PayInc on a monthly basis. This has recently added bulk cash demand to the economy.
The actual monthly data are then seasonally adjusted and reduced. As a result, given the processes of deflating (to adjust data for inflation) and seasonal adjustment (to adjust data for seasonality), there will always be small differences between the first published index numbers and the most recent.
PEI is the successor to the BankservAfrica Economic Transactions Index (BETI). It was conceived by the late economist Mike Schussler in collaboration with BankservAfrica. It was published since 2012.
The June index declined 0.9% on a monthly basis, following a 2.0% monthly decline in May.
Despite the monthly decline, the June 2026 PEI is still up 2.5% from a year ago. Its recent peak was 6.7% year-on-year in April.
Uncertainty disrupts economic activity
PayInc said economic activity weakened further in June as uncertainty hit confidence.
South African Policy Uncertainty Index (PUI) The worst level on record was reached in the second quarter of 2026.
The Northwestern University Business School PUI worsened from 77.8 in the first quarter and 64.9 in the fourth quarter to 81.9 in the second quarter.
electronic transactions
A total of 186.8 million transactions were processed through PayInc during June. This is 11.6% more than a year ago.
The nominal value of electronic transactions increased from R1.369 trillion in May to R1.427 trillion in June.
In the first half of 2026, transaction volume increased by 11.2% compared to the same period last year, reinforcing the continued shift towards electronic payments.