Capitec’s Non-Bank Business Surges, Contributing 28% to Group Profit
South Africa’s largest retail bank by client base, Capitec Bank, has seen its non-banking divisions—specifically Capitec Connect and Value Added Services (VAS)—generate $165 million (R2.7 billion) in headline earnings for the six months ending August 31, 2026.
This represents a significant milestone as non-bank entities now account for 28.4% of Capitec’s total earnings, up from 26.3% the previous year. The growth highlights the increasing importance of diversification in the bank’s overall financial strategy.
Key Performance Indicators:
- Combined gross income from VAS and Connect rose by 32% to $232.2 million (R3.8 billion)\n* VAS alone contributed R3.5 billion, with a 14% increase in customers purchasing prepaid services—reaching 13.5 million users\n* Capitec Connect’s gross net income surged by an impressive 72%, exceeding the entire year’s performance from 2025\n* Active subscribers on Capitec Connect reached 1.8 million, compared to 1.1 million a year ago\n* Data usage more than doubled to 34.3 petabytes, while voice minutes increased by 84% to 573 million
Capitec’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) utilizes Cell C’s infrastructure to provide competitive mobile services.
Strategic Initiatives Driving Growth:
To attract and retain customers, Capitec introduced free calls within its network and increased the maximum airtime borrowing limit from $0.61 (R10) to $6.11 (R100).
These initiatives proved successful as subscribers utilized $6 million (R96.8 million) in advances—a substantial increase from $2.2 million (R36.1 million) previously.
“Capitec Connect continued to scale as more clients used the product for affordable everyday connectivity,” stated the group’s earnings release, noting increased usage across both data and voice services.”
The bank’s expansion into mobile services aligns with a broader trend among leading African banks like Standard Bank, Access Bank, and GTBank seeking new revenue streams through fintech exploration.
Overall Financial Performance:
Capitec Group headline earnings rose 19% to $580.6 million (R9.5 billion), while operating expenses increased by 5% to $640.5 million (R10.5 billion).
Technology spending outside of salaries grew by 8%, driven primarily by a 27% increase in cloud fees and a 20% rise in outsourced technology resources.
The bank’s digital payments also experienced significant growth, with usage across platforms like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Garmin Pay jumping 68% to 2.4 million users.