Shoprite Group plans to offer its customers a debit card and an expanded transactional account, with Investec as the licensed bank behind them, under an agreement in principle announced on Monday.
Investec Bank will become the “banking sponsor” for the expanded offering from Shoprite Financial Services, the two companies said in a statement. The deal is subject to regulatory approval. Neither company gave a launch date or pricing.
Under the alliance banking model, Shoprite will provide the customer-facing product through its brands, stores and digital channels, while Investec provides the banking infrastructure and regulatory framework. That lets Shoprite expand its transactional offering “without establishing a separate bank”, the companies said.
The arrangement is non-exclusive and does not replace Shoprite’s existing relationships with other banks, payment providers or loyalty partners.
The partnership creates an opportunity to deepen our participation in South Africa’s evolving payments ecosystem and broaden our access to retail deposits.
Investec Group CEO Fani Titi
For Investec, a bank better known for wealthy private clients and corporate business, the attraction is access to a mass-market customer base. The partnership “creates an opportunity to deepen our participation in South Africa’s evolving payments ecosystem and broaden our access to retail deposits”, said Fani Titi, CEO of Investec Group. He said it would allow Investec to scale its financial services capabilities “while remaining focused on our existing target market”.
Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht said combining the retailer’s reach with Investec’s banking expertise would “expand access to simple and convenient fintech solutions that give South Africans greater choice and control over their money”.
Money Market Account
Shoprite already runs a basic bank account. Its Money Market Account has 4.3 million customers, many of them previously unbanked or underbanked, according to the group’s 2026 integrated report. The retailer has been adding financial services steadily: buy-now-pay-later through a partnership with PayJustNow in January, a majority stake in R&A Cellular, whose point-of-sale devices sit in spaza shops, and, in October, airtime and data sales on its Sixty60 app.
Its rivals have taken different routes into banking. Pepkor, owner of Pep and Ackermans, won regulatory approval to set up its own bank in November 2025, while Pick n Pay has offered in-store banking through TymeBank.
Shoprite and Investec said they continue to explore further opportunities building on the partnership. – (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
