Paper short abstract:

This paper explores how digital mobility through motorcycles delivery of food and parcels enables Fintech economies to proliferate. While it rests and is expanded on legacy banking and legacy retail in South Africa and more specifically Cape Town, new frontiers are sought in this urban economy.

Paper long abstract:

Fintech – a portmanteau word - financial+ technology which involves tech innovations in old financial services of credit and insurance as well as new innovations through mobile money, mobile payments and cryptocurrency.

One of the dominant narratives associated with Fintech innovations is its disruptive effect on old financial architectures that have been historically difficult to penetrate. The proliferation of these innovations is attributed to the large number of ‘unbanked’ people on the African continent leading to a ‘development’ narrative of financial inclusion across income groups. In our research we considered these interfaces of fintech with the informal economy which extends and platforms these informal systems through digital mobility platforms enabled by motorcycles in Nairobi, Kigali and Cape Town.

In this paper I explore these novel extensions in Cape Town - the fintech capital of the continent. Firstly, I discuss the fintech boom through venture capital in Africa and consider its celebration as well as its academic critiques. I then explore fintech in the Cape Town context through a case that counters the dominant narratives of high-risk, high value, speculative returns. I also show how both old banking systems and retail sector align and use motorcycled platformed mobility and its riders - the men who do this kind of labour - to achieve these returns. Lastly, I open the floor to questions of data, risk and inequality for these emergent economies.