While physical cash isn’t quickly becoming a thing of the past entirely, the number of  people making use of mobile or electronic payment options is steadily on the rise.

Locally, FNB’s eWallet has apparently been seeing a lot of regular use. The bank revealed that R1.2 billion is moved through the mobile money service every month.This amounts to R33 billion being transferred since the service started.

“The ability to send money to any South African number has undoubtedly contributed to the success of eWallet, with the convenience of the facility and the ease of use being at the essence of its ever growing popularity in South Africa as well as other African regions,” said Lytania Johnson CEO of eWallet Solutions, in a media statement.

Here’s another stat for you: 5 million people have used FNB’s eWallet since it started, and it currently has 3.5 million active users. Also, of the R33 billion, R27.8 billion has been sent through the traditional consumer eWallet service.

The remaining R5.2 billion has been transferred through the eWallet Pro businesses solution.

“Our representation points including our ATMs, and additional cash out points such as our Slimeline ATM’s that are placed in spaza shops throughout the country, have eliminated accessibility problems because we have taken this service to the communities,” Johnson explained.

But it is not only in South African where FNB’s eWallet has really taken off. Countries like Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Swaziland and Lesotho have sent a combined total of R6.6 billion through the service.

“Interestingly, in Namibia, eWallet has seen an impressive uptake in the number of users with over 1 million eWallet users since inception, which means 50% of the adult population of Namibia now use eWallet,” Johnson said.