Pepkor, linked to billionaire Christo Wiese, wins South Africa banking license

Pepkor Group, the investment holding company linked to South African billionaire Christo Wiese, has received regulatory approval from the Prudential Authority to launch a banking operation, marking one of the most significant shifts in the company’s 110-year history.

The group announced on Nov. 25 that it had been granted a license to begin operating in the banking sector, following Pepkor’s acquisition of CloudBadger, a fintech software business whose infrastructure will underpin the group’s digital banking architecture by March 2026.

A deeper push to formalize Pepkor’s fintech ambitions

Pepkor already plays in consumer finance through lay-bys, credit partnerships, and prepaid products, but the new banking license formalizes a long-running ambition to build a financial-services engine that can sit at the center of its 5,900-store network and vast customer base—one of the largest in Africa.

CEO Pieter Erasmus said the deal gives Pepkor the technological backbone needed to scale a mass-market banking offer: “The platform we acquired, and the team behind it, is a key ingredient in developing this opportunity.” 

The move also aligns with a broader shift among big retailers as they push deeper into financial services. Shoprite, Pick n Pay, and TFG have built profitable payments, money transfer, and lending ecosystems targeted at lower- to middle-income consumers. 

Strong financial footing supports the transition

The banking approval comes on the back of a solid financial year for Pepkor, with revenue up 12 percent to R95.3 billion ($5.5 billion) while operating profit went up 13.2 percent to R11.1 billion ($647.3 million).

Pepkor’s confidence is rooted in the financial performance of its growing fintech division. Revenue from the unit surged 31 percent to R16.6 billion ($968 million) in the fiscal year ending September 2025, making it one of the group’s fastest-expanding businesses.

With the regulatory greenlight, the retailer is moving from a traditional discount-retail model into a hybrid ecosystem where retail, payments, lending, and digital services converge.

Backed by a billionaire with a long retail legacy

The expansion of Pepkor, one of Africa’s largest clothing retailers and sellers of prepaid mobile phones, comes under the watchful eye of Christo Wiese. The South African retail investor rebuilt his empire after the 2017 Steinhoff collapse and has since maintained a key role in the consumer-facing industries.

Pepkor, founded in 1911, became central to Wiese’s retail portfolio in the 1980s and continues to represent one of his most successful investments. Pepkor’s move into banking adds strategic weight and signals long-term shareholder backing for a higher-margin, digitally driven future.