New South African ‘banks’ coming after Capitec 

South African retailers have significantly expanded their financial services offerings in recent years, leveraging their national footprint and partnerships to develop banking capabilities. 

Retailers have also leveraged this shift to diversify their revenue streams, increase trading density, enhance consumer loyalty, and gain access to data on individual spending behaviour.  

Shoprite has led the charge, with its Money Market account launching in 1998 and evolving into a fully-fledged bank account in 2020. 

The country’s largest clothing retailer, Pepkor, has received regulatory approval from the Prudential Authority to establish its banking presence in South Africa. 

Other major retailers, such as Pick n Pay and Boxer, have moved into this space through partnerships with existing financial services providers. 

All of these developments point to increasing competition for traditional banks, in particular Capitec, which has dominated the affordable banking space since its launch. 

Retailers have positioned their offerings as direct competitors to Capitec, with basic banking services at extremely low price points. 

Shoprite, for example, claims that its Money Market account is the most affordable entry-level bank account in South Africa, with it charging a flat R5 fee for cash withdrawals at its stores. 

Pick n Pay has been the latest retailer to emphasise the shift in customer behaviour towards financial services offered at retail stores. 

The retailer said this shift has accelerated dramatically over the past year, with customer use of in-store banking, value-added services and digital payment solutions reaching record levels. 

Cash deposits at tills have increased by 60% year-on-year, while overall cash transactions have declined by nearly 10%, reflecting the rapid rise in digital payments. 

“Retail financial access must meet people where they are. Our stores have become everyday financial touchpoints for millions of people,” Pick n Pay’s head of Financial Services and Mobile, Deven Moodley, said.  

Pick n Pay’s financial services offering is built on partnerships with FNB, RCS, PayJustNow, and MoneyBadger. These companies offer in-store banking services, store accounts, and credit for consumers. 

FNB has been explicit about its plans to distribute insurance products alongside its banking offerings at Pick n Pay stores across South Africa. 

While still in its infancy, FNB Insurance CEO Lee Bromfield told Daily Investor at the end of 2025 that it had successfully sold around 1,000 products through this channel. 

This is a key channel for future growth for FNB Insurance, as its products have largely penetrated the bank’s existing client base.

Shoprite’s juggernaut

Shoprite has a substantial banking customer base, despite not marketing the Money Market account aggressively outside of its stores. 

This account has grown to serve over four million customers since becoming a fully-fledged bank account in 2020. 

The account is effectively a digital version of the services offered by Shoprite’s Money Market counter, which is available in most of the company’s stores, including Checkers outlets.

This is a financial services hub where customers can pay bills, receive grant payments, send vouchers and cash, and buy airtime, data, and prepaid electricity. 

More recently, Shoprite has begun offering funeral and pet insurance at this counter through a partnership with OUTsurance. 

A major driver of the growth of Shoprite’s financial services business has been money transfers between individuals through its bank accounts and Money Market counters.

Many of the company’s consumers are looking for a safe transfer of money to family or friends within South Africa or across borders. 

However, many of these customers do not have traditional bank accounts, making it extremely difficult and risky through current avenues. 

Olivier explained that the transfer of money between individuals is the primary use case for Money Market counters and bank accounts. 

This makes them a powerful avenue to attract unbanked or underbanked South Africans into Shoprite’s financial services network and build a client base that can rival traditional banks. 

With over 2,800 retail stores in South Africa that serve as send and receive points for cash, Shoprite also has an immense physical footprint to distribute financial services products.

Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht has begun to lift the lid on the retailer’s banking ambitions, with its cards long being held close to its chest. 

“You are going to see us enter the banking world. We already have a banking account, which we have not started marketing,” Engelbrecht said following the company’s latest results.

“The account will be the only zero-cost bank account in the country. We are definitely going to enter the financial services area more aggressively.”

This is potentially highly lucrative for the retailer, with fintechs and banks enjoying significantly higher margins than traditional retailers. 

It will also give Shoprite access to the spending data of its clients, which can be used to enhance product offerings and tailor services to the client base. 

“We have been building and rolling out low-cost digital and financial services, focusing on the unbanked and under-banked population,” Shoprite said in its latest integrated annual report. 

“Through these services, we have become a one-stop shop for customers who can conveniently undertake various financial transactions, both in-store and online.”

Shoprite said the main income generated for the company from these services is in the form of commissions, with it also seeing benefits in terms of increased footfall and brand loyalty. 

This secondary benefit has been driven by the retailer making transactions within the Shoprite group of companies free.