South African payments fintech Yoco has appointed Carsten Höltkemeyer as CEO, effective 1 June 2026, ending a nine-month interim period during which co-founders Bradley Wattrus and Lungisa Matshoba have run the business as co-CEOs.
Höltkemeyer joins Yoco from a long career in European banking and fintech. He served as CEO of Berlin-based embedded finance group Solaris from late 2022 until the end of 2025, leading it through a difficult turnaround. Before Solaris, he spent 10 years running Barclaycard’s German business as its market CEO.
The appointment follows founding CEO Katlego Maphai’s decision to step down in September 2025.
Once Höltkemeyer’s onboarding is complete, Wattrus will move into a chief financial officer role and Matshoba will take up a chief product and technology officer position. Carl Wazen continues as chief business officer, leading go-to-market and commercial operations. Maphai remains engaged with the company as a co-founder on strategic matters.
Höltkemeyer will commute to South Africa from 1 June, with a full relocation from September 2026.
Yoco said it now serves more than 200 000 merchants, processes 30 million unique card taps a year and has advanced billions of rand in capital to small businesses over the past decade. Wazen described the customer data the company has accumulated as “a data layer no competitor can replicate”.
‘Next chapter’
Yoco has described its second decade as one in which AI and integrated software will give independent businesses a “competitive advantage” in a market it says has long been dominated by banks and legacy technology providers.
“We started Yoco to give independent businesses the tools they deserved. A decade later, we’re fighting for the same people, but what they need has changed,” Wattrus and Matshoba said in a joint statement. “Carsten adds the experience and values to lead this next chapter with us.”
Maphai said the appointment was “a considered decision, made by all four of us”, adding that the founders were “united” in their belief that Höltkemeyer was the right person to lead Yoco.
Read: South Africa’s Yoco raises R1.2-billion in major funding round
Yoco was founded in 2013 and is one of South Africa’s biggest fintech success stories. In 2021, it raised US$83-million (then about R1.2-billion) in a series-C round led by Dragoneer Investment Group. The company has expanded from card machines into online payments, point-of-sale software and financial services targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises, and has set its sights on broader African expansion. — © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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