Latest news with #CapitecPay
IOL News
25-04-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Simple and affordable: Capitec disrupts bank fees
Capitec is making banking even simpler and more affordable in 2025 with a groundbreaking new fee structure. Capitec, South Africa's leading digital bank, has launched a new, simplified fee structure for 2025. The revised fees make banking more affordable and accessible for clients. By reducing costs for key services, Capitec continues its commitment to financial inclusion. "By consolidating our fees into clear, simple tiers and reducing costs for essential services like debit orders and immediate payments, we're making it easier for South Africans to understand and manage their banking fees," says Francois Viviers, Group Executive: Marketing and Communications at Capitec. Back to basics: Keeping it simple More than 30 pricing points have been streamlined into five key fees: R1, R2, R3, R6 and R10. R1: Payments between Capitec accounts, including Capitec Pay Payments between Capitec accounts, including Capitec Pay R2: Payments to other banks using EFT or PayShap Payments to other banks using EFT or PayShap R3: Debit orders Debit orders R6: Immediate payments to any bank in SA Immediate payments to any bank in SA R10: Cash withdrawals per R1 000 at Capitec or other banks' ATMs Another industry first: Same fees for personal and business banking Business banking clients will benefit from the same affordable transaction rates as personal banking clients, reinforcing the bank's commitment to fostering growth for entrepreneurs and small businesses. A notable difference is the monthly fee: personal banking remains R7.50, while business banking has a monthly fee of R50 and requires a minimum balance of R150. Business account holders also receive personalised support and access to a dedicated relationship suite with 24/7 availability. Viviers adds, "Traditional banking is complex and expensive, often at the expense of most South Africans. We believe pricing should be affordable, simple, and transparent so that our clients know exactly what they pay and what they get. This philosophy extends across our entire product range – from everyday banking to insurance and Capitec Connect. By maintaining competitive premiums on our insurance products and offering affordable mobile data rates, we ensure that comprehensive financial services remain within reach for all South Africans." Reducing costs with smart tech Capitec's groundbreaking pricing structure is also the result of continued investment in innovation. By leveraging cloud computing solutions, particularly through Amazon Web Services (AWS), the bank has improved efficiency, strengthened system resilience and accelerated service delivery. These advancements have enabled Capitec to cut costs and pass the savings onto its clients. Supporting economic growth through financial inclusion Capitec's initiative aligns with SARB's Vision 2025, which aims to enhance financial inclusion by making digital payments more accessible, secure and efficient. By reducing costs and simplifying banking, Capitec is actively contributing to broader economic empowerment. "When more South Africans and businesses have access to affordable banking services, it creates a ripple effect throughout the economy. Our simplified fee structure is more than just pricing – it's about removing barriers to financial services and fostering economic growth for all South Africans," concludes Viviers. For more details on Capitec's 2025 banking fees and services, visit
Zawya
24-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
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.'
Zawya
17-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: Cape Town fintech Stitch secures $53mln in funding
Payments infrastructure company Sitch a $55m (R1bn) Series B funding round, led by global investment firms QED Investors, Glynn Capital, Flourish Ventures, and Norrsken22, with participation from existing backers Ribbit Capital, PayPal Ventures, The Raba Partnership, and Firstminute Capital. This brings Stitch's total funding to $107m since launching four years ago. The company plans to use the latest round to deepen and expand its in-person payments offering, move into the acquiring space, and further enhance its online payments suite. 'We're super excited and proud to be where we are in the market today. We feel we've earned the right to work with clients across the board – not just for online or in-person payments but with any money movement needs,' said the Stitch team. 'It felt like the right time to more aggressively expand our offering so we can further serve our clients. We've been fortunate to know all the new investors in the round for many years, and they all come with an impressive amount of fintech experience, including support in scaling similar businesses in other markets.' Gbenga Ajayi, partner and head of Africa and the Middle East at QED Investors, commented: 'Having closely followed the Stitch team over the past four years, it's been impressive to watch their rapid growth and execution in becoming a trusted payment provider. 'At QED Investors, we're thrilled to partner with such visionary founders and confident that Stitch will continue to set new standards in the payments industry across Africa and beyond.' Stitch currently supports some of South Africa's top enterprise businesses, including Takealot, Mr. D, MTN, Vodacom, Standard Bank's Shyft, TFG's Bash, Hollywoodbets, Luno, The Courier Guy, and more. Its platform includes a full suite of end-to-end payment methods: - Card, Pay by bank, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Capitec Pay, Absa Pay, Nedbank Direct EFT, DebiCheck, manual EFT, cash, and 24/7, 365 payouts - In-person payments across multi-lane retail and omnichannel businesses
