Fintech Firm Lesaka Technologies Awaits SARB’s Regulatory Approval

The CEO of Lesaka Southern Africa, Lincoln Mali, looks forward to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) opening the payments market to non-banking players.

Mali mentioned all this after the interview with ITWeb, after the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and Nasdaq-listed company announced its final results for the third quarter of fiscal 2025.

SARB intended to include non-bank entities in the national clearing and settlement system.

This is part of the central bank's strategy to broaden financial inclusion for South Africa's unbanked and underbanked populations.

By enabling participation from fintech companies, retailers, and mobile network operators, SARB aims to support more accessible and efficient payment solutions beyond traditional banking channels.

The initiative is expected to strengthen the role of innovative financial service providers in reaching underserved communities and enhance transactional convenience across the country.

"There are some changes that are being mooted by the Reserve Bank that enable non-bank participants to fully participate in the payments ecosystem without requiring a bank. If those regulations go as we wish, we foresee non-bank participants taking advantage of this," Mali said.

He added, "We have been a catalyst in the formation of the Association for South African Payment Providers (ASAPP), launched by eight of the largest non-bank digital payment providers in South Africa three months ago."