New bank taking on Capitec adding an important feature

South Africa’s newest bank — OM Bank — plans to roll out support for Apple Wallet and Google Wallet in the first half of 2026.

The Old Mutual-owned bank officially launched to the public in November 2025, after successfully completing testing with employees and a limited number of invited clients from its parent.

OM Bank is targeting the mass middle market, which earns between R8,000 and R80,000 per month. This is the same type of customer that makes up a large proportion of Capitec’s base.

It plans to leverage Old Mutual’s existing Money Market account users and extensive lending book to quickly grow its customer base and reach break-even by its 2028 financial year.

The bank has estimated it will need 2.5 million to 3 million customers to become profitable. In a progress update in early November 2025, the CEO said it had around 150,000 customers.

In an update in mid-January 2026, OM Bank communications senior manager Nawhal Foster told MyBroadband that the bank was still seeing around 4,000 to 5,000 new sign-ups every day.

That suggests that its customer base could have increased to around 394,000 to 455,000 by the end of 2025. If the growth is sustained, it is on track to reach its break-even goal on schedule.

Foster promised more details about OM Bank’s performance in March 2026, when Old Mutual will announce its annual results. “We will have some exciting metrics to share,” she said.

The bank plans to roll out a full marketing campaign in April 2026 to explain why South Africans should sign up for its offering.

The bank is planning to announce several new features for 2026 in the next few months. One feature confirmed for enabling in the first half of 2026 is support for digital wallets for Android and iOS.

Smartphone-based wallets have surged in popularity in South Africa in recent years and have become a must-have capability for many.

Despite serving the lower end of the market, OM Bank’s main competitor, Capitec, has seen digital wallet usage surge as tap-enabled smartphones have become more affordable.

Between June 2023 and June 2024, transaction volumes increased 225% while values jumped 225%. Between August 2024 and August 2025, the volumes increased by another 131%.

Physical branches remain important

While cutting-edge digital capabilities will be a key focus for the bank, it also wants to offer options to those customers who prefer or need physical branches and human interaction.

Old Mutual already has 346 branches where OM Bank’s clients can access services that are not supported on the app.

Capitec holds a similar view. While most major banks have reduced their branch numbers and footprints in the last few years, the bank has expanded its locations.

Although the use of digital banking services has surged, Capitec has recently observed a moderate increase in branch footfall alongside more usage of ATMs.

“While more clients are embracing digital banking, many still value the personal connection and support available in our branches,” Capitec said.

OM Bank currently offers just one type of transactional account with a fixed monthly charge of R4.95. Its individual transaction charges are similar to Capitec and other major banks’ low-cost accounts.

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