The Business of Pawn Stores in SA – How they’ve had to innovate to survive.

Loading player...
GUEST – Peter Forshaw - Chief Financial Officer for Cash Converters Southern Africa.
In South Africa, pawning goods as a way to secure loans can be traced back to colonial times. Pawn shops that offered loans against jewellery, watches, tools and other comparatively small personal items of value existed in colonial Cape Town, and in other smaller cities and towns.
In modern times, pawnbroking has evolved from just lending against smaller physical assets such as gold and jewellery to accepting increasingly specialised forms of security. These days there are lenders that will accept business invoices that are awaiting payment, commercial property and high-value assets such as luxury vehicles as collateral on a loan.
12 Aug 2024 3PM English South Africa Business News · Investing

Other recent episodes

SA’s Draft AI Policy: The Cost of Getting It Wrong

Free SA spokesperson Gideon Joubert discusses the organization's concerns about South Africa’s Draft National AI Policy—including expanded bureaucracy, duplicated institutions, and barriers for startups.
21 Apr 4PM 5 min

Legal AI Time Bombs

Pinsent Masons’ Geoffrey Allsop explains why employers are already legally liable for AI‑driven decisions under South African law. We explore discrimination risks from foreign‑trained models and what the Draft AI Policy signals for workplace regulation.
21 Apr 4PM 9 min

Understanding SA’s Draft AI Policy

Werksmans’ Ahmore Burger‑Smidt unpacks South Africa’s Draft National AI Policy. This includes the proposed new AI institutions, privacy blind spots, and the implications for business.
21 Apr 4PM 21 min