South African Reserve Bank

The South African Reserve Bank opened for business on 30 June 1921, which makes it the oldest central bank in Africa. The Reserve Bank issued its first banknotes on 19 April 1922, and today sets interest rates through its Monetary Policy Committee, manages South Africa’s gold and foreign exchange reserves and supervises banks through the Prudential Authority.

Registered name

South African Reserve Bank

Type

Central bank

Fields funded

Economics, finance, statistics, data science, IT and related fields

Website

resbank.co.za

Phone

+27 12 313 3911

Why South Africa created a central bank

Before 1921, commercial banks issued banknotes that had to be backed by gold. During and after the First World War, gold traded at a higher price in London than in South Africa, so people could profit by swapping banknotes for gold and selling it in London, while banks lost money re-importing gold. The banks asked to be released from converting notes into gold; the Gold Conference of October 1919 and a parliamentary select committee then recommended a central bank.

The Reserve Bank’s history continued through major changes: South Africa left the gold standard in 1932, introduced the rand on 14 February 1961, and after the South African Reserve Bank Act of 1989 the bank adopted a mission to protect the value of the rand, an objective later written into the Constitution.

Two ways the Reserve Bank funds students for 2027

The Reserve Bank’s external bursary for first-year students in 2027 is open and closes on 30 September 2026. Separately, the Reserve Bank’s scholarship for a Master’s in Data Science and Machine Learning is open for 2027 and closes on 31 October 2026.

Researching the Reserve Bank before you apply

The Reserve Bank publishes a calendar of major releases, such as Monetary Policy Committee statements, the Quarterly Bulletin and the Monetary Policy Review. Following those releases for a few months shows applicants what economists, statisticians and data scientists at the bank actually produce. The Reserve Bank also runs the MPC Schools Challenge for learners, which offers school pupils an early introduction to monetary policy.

The Reserve Bank has moved to temporary offices while it renovates its Pretoria head office, so check the current address on resbank.co.za before posting anything or visiting.

Economics and data students can compare the Reserve Bank with other funders on our data science bursaries page.