South Africa: Diversification of services sees Capitec grow headline earnings by 30%
Despite a challenging economic climate, digital bank Capitec, for the financial year ending 28 February 2025, reported a 30% increase in headline earnings to R13.7bn.
Capitec has, for the financial year ending 28 February 2025, reported a 30% increase in headline earnings to R13.7bn. Gerrie Fourie, chief executive officer of Capitec attributes this to the bank's solid foundations for long-term growth, powered by its scalable technology and diversified business model
Personal banking now constitutes 45% of total earnings, insurance accounts for 25%, strategic initiatives (VAS and Capitec Connect) contribute 23%, business banking makes up 5%, and AvaFin (consolidated from 1 May 2024) adds 2%.
It attributes this to its diversification of services over the past five years which include the introduction of business banking, value-added services (VAS), Capitec Connect, and insurance under its own insurance licence as well as its integrated digital ecosystem.
As a result, the bank's active client base now exceeds 24 million.
Capitec's strategic focus on value-added services (VAS) and the Capitec Connect mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) has delivered exceptional results, providing significant client value and convenience.
Their combined net income surged by 61% to R4.4bn.
Growth in airtime and data
Over 11 million clients now utilise the Capitec app to purchase airtime, data, electricity, vouchers, and to pay bills.
The bank captures over 40% of South Africa's airtime and data transactions, and one in five digital vehicle licence renewals now occur on its platform, saving clients both time and money.
Capitec Connect has expanded its unique value proposition beyond the original no-expiry bundle to include highly competitive 1-, 7-, and 30-day validity options, which now account for over 60% of sales.
Active SIM subscribers have grown by 74% to 1.6 million, demonstrating the appeal of its simplified, affordable data offering integrated within the banking ecosystem.
Data usage has surpassed 13.4 petabytes, contributing R193m in net income.
Digital payments continue to accelerate
The shift to digital payments continues to accelerate.
Card payments at tills and online have risen by 18% to more than 2.4 billion transactions, while cash transaction volumes have increased by only 3%.
E-commerce transactions, including those via Capitec Pay, surged by 47% to 488 million.
More than 1 million clients are now actively using their Capitec cards through digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
Capitec has also launched a new International Payments solution on the app, enabling fast and affordable payments to over 50 countries in 13 currencies, for a fixed fee of R175, with funds reflecting within hours.
Meanwhile, new purpose credit solutions are helping clients fund vehicles, education, and home improvements through more than 27,000 partner locations.
Credit sales to clients earning over R50,000 a month grew 56%, as the bank introduced personalised in-app offers, secured home loans, youth credit cards, and repay-as-you-earn loans for side hustlers and freelancers.
Insurance records rapid growth
Operating under its licence, Capitec Life now manages over 3.3 million active funeral and life cover policies, insuring 15 million lives and contributing R1.9bn in net insurance income to the group.
Since May 2024, the bank has added in excess of 600,000 active funeral and life cover policies on its own licence.
New business
Active business clients increased to 218,207 (up 15%), forex transactions grew by 92%, and scored loan balances rose by 111% to R1.3bn.
Capitec's merchant commerce strategy involved selling new smart card machines outright rather than renting them, and providing the most competitive commission rates, which has helped grow the number of active trading merchants by 124% to 63,000, with a total annual turnover of R64bn.
This simplified approach, along with newly reduced and transparent pricing, has saved businesses R289m in banking fees over the past year alone.
A focus on education
Capitec's broader impact also includes significant contributions to financial education and social upliftment.
Through the Capitec Foundation, more than 21,000 learners, educators, and school leaders benefited from improved maths education programmes.
Additionally, 4,000 employee volunteers partnered with nonprofits to deliver 345 initiatives that reached over 27,000 learners. Capitec's MoneyUp Academy and WhatsApp learning bot have delivered 1.6 million lessons, further driving financial literacy across the country.
Solid foundations for long-term growth
Gerrie Fourie, chief executive officer of Capitec says, 'We have laid solid foundations for long-term growth, powered by our scalable technology and diversified business model.
'We will continue to invest in technology and data to deepen our client knowledge and refine our offerings, ensuring each part of our ecosystem delivers distinct value.
'Key future initiatives involve the continued development of our integrated ecosystem, enhancing our payment capabilities, and growing our business banking and insurance businesses.
'We remain passionate about making a meaningful difference and helping our clients and the South African economy grow.'
Fourie asserts that the results represent more than mere numbers - they signify progress in transforming lives.
'We have always believed that banking should be simple, affordable, accessible, and personal. These results demonstrate that we are achieving just that.
'Through our high-volume, low-margin business model, we are enabling everyone to access solutions that allow them to take control of their finances, protect their families, manage businesses, and unlock opportunities.
'Our purpose-driven strategy is helping us scale sustainably and, most importantly, it is assisting 24 million South Africans to grow every day.'
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