iZi Cash, one of South Africa’s leading providers of cash logistics and cash management services to the retail and banking sector, has become the first compulsory member of CITASA, the Cash-In-Transit Association of South Africa, which aims to represent all CIT companies operating within South Africa.

“In a nutshell, we stand for saving the lives of people employed to transport cash, and for securing clients’ cash,” says Grant Clark, head of CITASA. “Rising crime levels in our industry, and especially the escalation in violence towards industry employees, makes collaboration across the cash chain more important than ever.”

iZi Cash joining the association is seen as a significant step for both organisations.

“We fully support the principles CITASA advocates, especially minimum standards, collaboration and information sharing,” says Albert Erasmus, CEO of iZi Cash Holdings. “CIT crime has a devastating impact on our society in general and on us as companies – our staff, our assets – specifically. It is a problem no one can tackle alone; we must share resources daily, and that is what we hope to help bring about by becoming a CITASA member.”

Erasmus also values the role CITASA plays to bridge the gap between the CIT industry, external stakeholders and law enforcement agencies, and to ensure that the necessary industry regulations and standards are in place and enforced. “By joining the Association, we commit to actively participating in improving our industry,” Erasmus says.

For CITASA, an expanding membership base brings enhanced credibility and an increasing ability to be a voice for the industry. “Compulsory members add huge value as they bring all the different aspects influencing our industry to the table,” says Clark. Technology companies that design and produce safer and more resilient vehicles and cross pavement technology are a case in point.

Founded by G4S Cash Solutions, Fidelity Cash Solutions and SBV Services – one of CITASA’s most significant successes in recent times, after becoming a legal entity in November 2021, has been successfully working with SAPS to coordinate and mobilise CIT resources when spikes in cash crimes occur.