New beginning for Bank Zero
The Competition Commission has recommended that Lesaka Technologies’ acquisition of Bank Zero be approved by the Competition Tribunal.
This comes after Bank Zero chairman and co-founder Michael Jordaan announced that Lesaka Technologies had offered R1.1 billion to buy the bank, pending regulatory approvals, in June 2025.
“The Commission has recommended that the Tribunal approve the proposed transaction whereby Lesaka intends to acquire Zero Research, without conditions,” it said in a statement.
“The Commission is of the view that the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition in any market.”
The Competition Commission added that the proposed transaction doesn’t raise any significant public interest concerns.
Jordaan, a former FNB CEO, announced on Thursday, 26 June 2025, that Lesaka had acquired Bank Zero for R1.1 billion.
“There are lots of regulatory approvals still needed, but both teams are excited about the merger synergies,” he said.
He added that, upon the transaction’s completion, he will remain Bank Zero chairman, and the bank’s management team will remain intact.
He co-founded Bank Zero in January 2018, alongside banking innovator Yatin Narsai and five other founders. The digital bank is 45% black-owned and 20% female-owned.
The acquisition consideration will be settled through a combination of newly issued shares and up to R91 million in cash. Bank Zero shareholders will own approximately 12% of Lesaka’s shares.
Jordaan will also join the Lesaka Board of Directors following the successful transaction, while Narsai will continue as the CEO of Bank Zero.
Lesaka revealed its plans to integrate Bank Zero into its platform in September 2025. It said the move would consolidate its digital infrastructure into a single, scalable technology stack.
It will also add full banking capabilities to Lesaka’s fintech offering, while improving Lesaka’s value proposition and helping to accelerate Bank Zero’s organic growth.
Lesaka said the integration will broaden revenue opportunities, strengthen its balance sheet, and, ultimately, enable it to launch cross-border financial exchange products.
Lesaka believes introducing Bank Zero to its platform will improve its existing value proposition, thanks to the following:
- Consolidation to a modern and proprietary core banking platform for consumers;
- The reduction of third-party dependencies;
- Revised sponsorship banking fees; and,
- Access to float revenue from a combined deposit base.
Lesaka said the acquisition will also augment and expand its product portfolio by enabling a cross-sell banking offering to merchants and providing alliance banking solutions for enterprise clients.
On its balance sheet optimisation, Lesaka expects financial growth through customer deposits, which will drive stronger lending economics.
It also anticipates reducing the use of bank debt in its consumer and merchant divisions, which could help deleverage its gross debt by more than R1 billion.
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