Old Mutual has joined the growing number of South African banks and financial services companies in launching a mobile virtual network operator.

“The insurance giant will be offering competitive mobile services designed to meet the needs of today’s dynamic and connected world,” Old Mutual said in a statement on Monday. Cell C is the company’s chosen mobile network operator partner, and will leverage Cell C partner networks of Vodacom and MTN.

The company’s focus will be on providing mobile connectivity to the “lower segment market” by offering “unparallelled value” in data plans, it said.

Called Old Mutual Connect, the MVNO is part of the company’s “integrated financial services” strategy, said Clarence Nethengwe, MD of Old Mutual’s Mass Foundation cluster and CEO designate of Old Mutual’s bank, which will be launched in 2025.

“Affordable data and reliable connectivity is critical for our customers in the mass market to fully participate in the mainstream economy. It is also an important enabler for our customers to interact with the rest of our propositions digitally,” Nethengwe said.

Old Mutual will use the networks of several mobile network operators in what it described as a “multi-operator core network agreement”.

What’s on offer

Old Mutual Connect offers consumers:

A Sim card for as little as R5 from any Old Mutual branch. Customers can also buy data and airtime from a variety of channels, including branch, partner and digital, the company said.
A variety of data bundles that can be personalised to individual needs. Users get 1GB of data gratis for activating their Sims. There is also a two-for-one data bundle when users purchase any data product, getting an additional purchased bundle for “free”.