South Africa’s banks are taking divergent paths on AI, with Investec insisting people, not machines, define the institution.
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Capitec CEO Graham Lee has revealed the bank is seeking early access to Anthropic’s Mythos as cyber risks escalate for banks.
The leaked information includes client names, ID numbers, contact details, account numbers and some credit card details.
FirstRand lifted its stake to 26.1% in late March. Now Standard Bank has led a $330-million debt refinancing.
Standard Bank says the market should lead. Fintechs say fragmentation and proprietary APIs are holding the sector back.
The bulk of capital is earmarked for later-stage rounds, where South African venture funding has long been thinnest.
Standard Bank’s R164-trillion in annual payment flows dwarfs the entire global mobile money ecosystem fourfold.
A PwC analysis shows technology investment is accelerating as incumbents face pressure from challenger banks.
Standard Bank Group spending on tech rose 8.7% in 2025 while it extended the life of its South African core banking system.
ID applications are the first use case, but passports and other types of documents are in the pipeline.