Mukuru, a Pan-African fintech with more than 17 million customers, launched a local banking account and card system in South Africa. The product is offered in partnership with licensed sponsor bank Bank Zero, with technical infrastructure enabled by Paymentology and Mastercard. The service expands Mukuru’s core money transfer operations into daily banking functions, allowing users to manage both domestic and cross-border financial services through a single interface.
Account holders can receive salary deposits, execute real-time electronic fund transfers to any South African bank, and access credit facilities. The linked card supports online and in-store purchases with a maximum monthly limit of R150,000. It also offers reduced fees for automated teller machine withdrawals and discounted rates on cross-border money transfers. The rollout targets the company's existing user base, which includes approximately 500,000 prepaid cardholders in the country.
"This launch is a key milestone in our remittance-led neobank strategy," said Andy Jury, CEO of Mukuru. "For 22 years, we’ve been synonymous with cross-border money transfers, and millions of our customers have trusted us with the money that matters most to them, the money they send to family. Over time we have introduced a range of complementary products and services and now, together with Bank Zero, we can give them their everyday banking too: getting paid, paying rent, shopping and sending money across borders, all from one account."
The account utilizes Mukuru’s established distribution network, which encompasses 320,000 physical cash-in and cash-out locations alongside digital platforms like WhatsApp and a proprietary mobile application.
“At Mukuru, we always talk about meeting our customers where they are,” said Juan Seco, Chief Growth Officer at Mukuru. “Just because someone transacts in cash should not mean they have access to fewer financial services. The strength of the Account & Card is that it bridges that gap and can grow with the customer, leveraging the reach of our physical and digital networks.”
The South African deployment follows a similar product launch in Botswana. The release builds upon the company's regulated regional footprint, which includes e-money licenses in Malawi, Zambia, and Botswana, alongside a deposit-taking microfinance license in Zimbabwe.
