Details
This is an in-person and online event
Date: Friday 23rd May 2025
Start time: 13:00 PM SAST
Duration: 1 hour
Practitioner: Ayn Du Bazane
Company: SARB
Location: UCT, School of Economics, 4th Floor Seminar Room
RSVP Link: Form link
Please note that this is an in-person event only.
About the Speaker: Ayn Du Bazane
Ayn du Bazane is a Senior Fintech Analyst at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), specialising in crypto assets. She chairs the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group’s (IFWG) Crypto Assets Regulatory Working Group (CAR WG), a key body that monitors and analyses the crypto asset ecosystem to inform financial sector regulators and contribute to a robust regulatory framework. In her role, Ayn leads initiatives to shape South Africa’s crypto regulations, assessing trends, risks, and developments in the crypto landscape and driving policy recommendations through the CAR WG. She also serves as the Co-Lead for the IFWG’s Regulatory Sandbox and previously co-led the IFWG Regulatory Guidance Unit. Before joining SARB’s Fintech Unit, Ayn was a Senior Payment Specialist in the National Payment System Department, where she focused on non-banks, financial innovation (later ‘paytech’), and cyber resilience. She played a pivotal role in co-creating and co-authoring Vision 2025 and was honoured with the Governor’s Team Award for her contributions to the Interchange Determination Project. Ayn holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Futures Studies from Stellenbosch University and a Bachelor of Economics from Rhodes University. She also successfully completed the Cambridge Digital Assets for Regulators program at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School.
About SARB
The primary mandate of the South African Reserve Bank is to protect the value of the currency in the interest of balanced and sustainable economic growth.
In addition to this, the SARB has a statutory mandate to enhance and protect financial stability in South Africa.
The SARB is also responsible for:
- issuing and destroying banknotes and coin;
- regulating and supervising financial institutions;
- managing the official gold and foreign reserves of the country;
- managing the national payments system;
- administering the country’s remaining exchange rate control systems;
- acting as the banker to government; and
- acting as lender of last resort to provide liquidity assistance in exceptional cases.
Source: South African Reserve Bank About Section
Financial Innovation Hub Practitioner Seminars
This seminar is part of a series which has been created to expose UCT MPhil in Fintech students to exceptional individuals in the African Fintech space working on innovative solutions to address the large unbanked population on our continent. Fintech in Africa has received the largest share of funding in recent years, and this trend is expected to increase. As the only dedicated Fintech Master's program on the African continent, one of our goals is to connect our students with leading fintech companies across the continent. In the past, we have had speakers from Nala, Stitch Money, Visa, Spoon Money, Consensys, Authentium, Investec and more. Because seminars have attracted interest from students across campus, any student or individual interested in fintech and related topics are welcome to attend.
