Measuring the real economic impact of the lockdown

Loading player...
Just how badly has the economy been hit by the lockdown to fight Covid-19? Mark Sternberg, MD of Spark ATM Systems, says it's able to quantify the impact long before GDP data is released.
The problem with GDP data, when it’s released, is that’s it’s by no means a current reflection of the economic situation.
However, Spark ATM Systems, a South African company that operates 4 500 ATMs across the country, believes it is able to offer a much more up-to-date picture of the economic impact that the lockdown is having on the economy and people’s livelihoods.
In this episode of the TechCentral podcast (watch the video below), Spark ATM MD Marc Sternberg talks about the impact the lockdown is having on the economy, and cash withdrawal trends leading up to the lockdown and what has happened since.
He also talks about how the numbers the company is seeing in South Africa compare to other markets where its parent company, the Nasdaq-listed Cardtronics, operates and what those numbers could portend for South Africa as it moves to lift restrictions further in the coming weeks.
12 May 2020 English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

TCS+ | A smarter approach to cloud for South African businesses

South African businesses are spending millions on cloud – and many have very little to show for it. That is the uncomfortable starting point for this episode of TCS+, in which Nkosinathi Ndlovu speaks to Joel Chacko, executive head of department for cloud services at Vodacom Business, and Jonathan Oaker,…
28 Jul 21 min

TCS | How Optasia lends billions to people banks can’t see

Optasia is on target to distribute more than US$6-billion in credit across its markets in 2026 – and it carries every cent of the default risk itself. In this episode of the TechCentral Show, CEO Salvador Anglada unpacks how the JSE’s biggest recent fintech listing actually works. Formerly known as…
23 Jul 25 min

Everything you wanted to know about EVs but were afraid to ask

In the latest episode of Watts & Wheels with Wills, host William Kelly is joined in the studio by Greg Cress, automotive and e-mobility industry lead at Accenture South Africa, and Gary Scott of Scottify -- two of the longest-serving voices in South Africa's electric vehicle scene, and co-authors of…
22 Jul 19 min

Watts & Wheels with Wills: The rands-and-cents case for electric trucks

Aeversa’s John Ford unpacks the rands-and-cents case for electric trucks in this first of a new interview series. TechCentral is proud to present the first episode of Watts & Wheels with Wills, our new interview show about electric vehicles and the fast-changing world of e-mobility in South Africa. In the…
20 Jul 22 min

Watts & Wheels S1E7: 'Ferrari's EV breaks the internet'

Episode 7 of Watts & Wheels – TechCentral's electric motoring show – opens with mock outrage: the South African Car of the Year results are in, and the Alfa Romeo Junior didn't take the overall title. Hosts William Kelly and Duncan McLeod demand a recount – though they concede the…
8 Jul 1 hr 05 min