For generations, Ubuntu has been woven into the fabric of South African life – shaping how we care for family, support our communities and share in one another’s successes and struggles. That spirit of collective care also influences how we think about money.
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For many South Africans, an income is rarely theirs alone: it may help support parents, siblings, children or extended family, while financial success is measured by the opportunities it creates for others. This is often where the conversation around “Black tax” begins.
Yet the reality is more nuanced. Family support can be an expression of responsibility, gratitude and pride, while also placing significant financial pressure on those providing it. The challenge is preserving Ubuntu without allowing the cost of caring to undermine financial resilience and future wealth.
According to the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor 2026, four in 10 working South Africans now belong to what's known as the sandwich generation, supporting both their children and their parents or other adult dependents at the same time. Among working Gen Z South Africans, that figure climbs to 43%. These are young people barely a few years into their careers, already carrying two generations on their
shoulders.
The goal should not be a society where more people carry this responsibility. True progress is a society where fewer families need to rely on one individual because every generation has greater access to opportunity, financial security and economic participation.
From financial support to financial strength: One of the most powerful outcomes of social mobility is the ability to create opportunities beyond a single generation. While helping family through immediate needs remains important, long-term financial resilience comes from creating pathways to independence. This may include investing in education, encouraging savings habits, building emergency funds or helping loved ones access financial tools and services that improve their financial well-being.
In this way, financial support becomes more than assistance for today. It becomes an investment in tomorrow.
Finding balance without losing the value: Ubuntu does not require self-sacrifice to the point of financial hardship. In fact, sustainable support starts with protecting your own financial future. Setting boundaries, planning ahead and building personal financial resilience are not acts of selfishness. They are what make it possible to continue supporting others over time.
The challenge for many South Africans is finding that balance: remaining committed to family and community while also creating financial stability for themselves and future generations.
This is where being clever with money earns its meaning. You don’t have to give less to the people who matter. But you can give in a way that doesn't quietly sabotage your own progress, so the support you provide today doesn't become a crisis you're asking for support with tomorrow.
Modern banking has a real role to play here. Something as simple as being able to send money to a parent or sibling instantly, without a transfer fee eating into an already tight budget, changes the maths of family support. OM Bank's Send Cash feature, which lets customers send up to R3,000 for free, is a small example of how the right tools remove friction from a tradition that isn't going anywhere and shouldn't have to.
That's the role a bank should play in this story: not the hero of it, but the copilot. The people doing the giving, the saving and the sacrificing are the ones showing up for their families. OM Bank's job is to make that easier to manage so people can be as clever with their money as they are with their love.
A heritage worth preserving
As we celebrate Heritage Day, perhaps the conversation should move beyond "Black tax" and focus instead on the values that underpin it. Ubuntu remains one of South Africa's greatest strengths. It reminds us that success is often shared and that communities thrive when people support one another.
But the true measure of progress is not how many people carry others financially. It is how many families become financially resilient enough to stand together on stronger foundations.
That is the future Ubuntu should help us build: one where caring for each other remains a defining value, and where every generation has a greater opportunity to achieve financial independence
