The Shift From Rms To Rm: What South Africa's Businesses Need To Know

South Africas payments businesses await the mandatory shift from the Registered Mandate Service RMS to the new RM payment stream by March 2025. With the change imminent, Amplifins Chief Brand Officer, Steven Maier , shares insights on how businesses can navigate this shift effectively.

As the South African payments community prepares for a significant shift, businesses reliant on DebiCheck debit orders and specifically in cases when authentication from debtors is not successful must brace themselves for the mandatory transition from the Registered Mandate Service RMS to the new Registered Mandate RM payment stream by the end of March 2025 .

This shift goes beyond compliance. It represents a broader drive toward modernising payment infrastructure, aligning with international standardsand securing the financial system. Understanding and preparing for the change is crucial for companies relying heavily on RMS collections.

The shift from RMS to RM is part of the South African Reserve Bank's SARB broader initiative to strengthen the integrity of the country's payment ecosystem. RMS, introduced as a temporary solution, enabled creditors to have their debit orders processed in the morning even when a successful authentication could not be secured from the debtors.