Absa Group has announced a series of executive leadership changes, headlined by the appointment of former M-Pesa Africa MD Sitoyo Lopokoiyit as CEO of its personal and private banking division. Lopokoiyit, who takes up the role on 1 April, joins from Safaricom, where he led the strategy and growth of M-Pesa, Africa’s largest fintech platform….
David Barrett, CEO of EBC Financial Group (UK). The rapid growth of digital banking is creating opportunities for cyber criminals to use deepfake technology, particularly AI-generated voice and video scams, to commit fraud. Experts warn of deepfake investment content and impersonation tactics spread on social media and messaging apps. This is according to global financial…
Bonolo Sebolai, head of fraud at TymeBank. The Remote Access Trojan (RAT) attack is one of the fastest growing and most dangerous scams targeting South African consumers, warns Bonolo Sebolai, head of fraud at TymeBank. A RAT is malicious software that allows a fraudster to remotely control a person’s phone or computer. According to TymeBank,…
A $125 billion fund will use profits from global markets to invest in forest protection. Can we trust the same financiers driving deforestation to save the world’s forests? The UK and US financial sector are better known for financing businesses driving deforestation. But now, the government of Brazil is seeking their advice on how to…
The South African banking sector is poised for further disruption as one of the world’s largest digital banks, Revolut, prepares to enter the local market. The London-headquartered fintech Revolut is driving an expansion into emerging markets following last Wednesday’s announcement that it will launch a payments platform in India. Founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky…
Discovery Bank CEO Hylton Kallner Discovery Bank is cementing its place as a serious digital challenger in the South African market. In its full-year results released published last week, for the period ending 30 June 2025, the bank reported positive customer growth numbers, even breaking even for the first time. In this in-depth interview, Discovery…
Rapid changes in the payments landscape across Africa are challenging traditional banks, which are being forced to adapt quickly to new modes of facilitating transactions such as mobile money and cryptocurrencies. This is according to the Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) Payments in Africa white paper released last week, which found that increased…
Banking group Absa and cloud services giant Amazon Web Services have announced an expansion of their commercial relationship that will see AWS become Absa’s “preferred cloud partner”. According to a statement on Monday, the partnership is aimed at delivering more agile, secure and customer-focused financial services. “This partnership reflects our ambition to be a digitally…
Digital fraud is on the rise in South Africa, with the number of incidents reported by the banking sector in the 2024 calendar nearly doubling year on year. The rate of successful incidents is just as endemic, growing by more than two-thirds over the same period. This is according to the South African Banking Risk…
FNB and Capitec will offer smart IDs through apps. (Image by Nicola Mawson) The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is partnering with banks to enable citizens to apply for smart IDs and passports via banking applications, as part of an effort to address fraud linked to the old green ID books. Capitec and First National…
