Cape Town, My City.

Woman at the ATM

Spending money is a way of life in Cape Town. If you are not heading out for sushi with the girls, you are popping out for a drink after work or ordering a pizza because you are too lazy to play the domestic goddess. With the festive season (and its myriad temptations) coming up, this got me thinking about how I would manage my money when I am not in front of my computer 24/7.

See, as a proud member of the perpetually plugged-in generation, I am thoroughly infatuated with the convenience of internet banking. Rent due? No problem, log in and get it done. Little sister in Stellenbosch needs to borrow money? Soften your heart, log in and place money into her account. Airtime caput? Log on in and top up – easy peasy. In fact, you can get so used to this convenient way of conducting business that you can lose sight of how cumbersome it can be to do cash transactions.

One of the only reasons I remain a slave to the abhorrent banking charges associated with South Africa’s Big Four is the convenience factor. I would love to take advantage of the more affordable rates charged by newly established financial institutions, but the fact that I would have to walk a few extra blocks to get to one of their ATM’s is enough to make me stick to my guns. I am a product of my environment you see. Surely you cannot bring up children with microwaves, cell phones and high speed internet and still expect them to be patient? That would just be naïve.

Luckily for me and my equally impatient counterparts, it seems that the ATM industry has heeded our distress call. Of late I have noticed that quite a few supermarkets and convenience stores now have ATMs situated in handy locations on their premises. This means that I can nip in, draw cash and stock up on magazines and mints all at the same time. ATMs like these are especially handy if you are a girl and you need to draw cash after dark – now there is no need to make a nerve-wracking trip to the downtown cash machine where you inevitably feel as though you have a target painted on your back.

So, it seems I’ve found my solution to my festive season internetlessness-related woes – I’ll simply substitute the convenience of online banking for in-store ATMs. Joy!