Latest news with #FirstRand
The South African
16 hours ago
- Business
- The South African
Homeowners bring class-action lawsuit against 'big-four' SA banks
It's a class-action lawsuit the likes of which South Africa has never seen before. R60 billion and more than 100 000 former homeowners. They'll be taking on South Africa's 'big-four' banks – ABSA, FirstRand, Nedbank and Standard Bank. As such, the record-breaking class-action lawsuit is set to be heard in February 2026. And it's said to be made up of residents who fell on hard times. They couldn't meet their mortgage payments, and had their homes repossessed by the banks. Who then sold them as distressed properties on auction. Buying a distress property on auction is a great way to get a good deal. Image: File Unsurprisingly, the potentially biggest class-action lawsuit ever in South Africa, could prove a turning point for the bank industry, reports IOL . If awarded, it will dwarf the previous successful class-action lawsuit in the country. This was awarded back in 2012, for R5 billion, to miners who contracted silicosis and tuberculosis. So, what exactly are the former homeowners arguing against South Africa's banks? And what's the likelihood of this record-breaking settlement actually being awarded in court? Such unscrupulous behaviour often targeted the poorest black households a decade ago. Image: Writer's room As such, applicants in the class-action lawsuit are fighting that their homes were undervalued when sold at auction. They were often sold with no reserve price, no regard for market value and for as little as R1 000. Apparently, this was possible before 2017, when South African courts didn't require a minimum sale price. Such a practice was also only prevalent in South Africa at the time, and nowhere else. Mercifcully, the loophole has since been closed. However, more than 100 000 former homeowners did suffer, and they wish to set the record straight in court. And they've got the Lungelo Lethu Human Rights Foundation taking up the fight for them. With one advocate Dr. Douglas Shaw leading arguments. The case is expected to be heard in February 2026. Image: Pexels Talking on The Money Show, Dr. Shaw said he's pushing for criminal investigations into each sale. 'When I go to court, I go up against tens of people. It's me versus all those from the top banks in the country. It's a scary thing to do. Most lawyers would say, no, it's too difficult. But this class-action lawsuit needs to be heard,' said Shaw. If your house was repossessed and sold as 'distressed' before 2017, you can add your name to the growing class-action lawsuit here. Simply email – banksoldmyhouse@ for more information. We'll bring you more on this story as it develops into 2026 … Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
Will Revolut spice up South Africa's digital banking recipe?
Have you ever been to a braai (a typical South African barbeque) where everyone has to bring a dish? Typically, people prepare what they think will appeal to everyone. What this usually results in is a selection of familiar favourites, with nobody making any bold moves – that is, until the 'friend of a friend' brings the potato salad with a crazy twist. It instantly becomes all anyone can talk about, and even though there was already a potato salad on the table, this firm favourite re- mains untouched. People have gravitated to the bold new offering. A little while back, the financial news in South Africa was dominated by the an- nouncement that Revolut, Europe's largest digital bank, was eyeing South Africa as a market for expansion. Since this spicy news dropped, there has been consider- able worry that all the traditional banks in South Africa are now under threat. I have a different opinion. There were similar sentiments when TYME and Bank Zero started, and while they are doing well, they haven't taken the 'Big 5' - Stand- ard Bank, FirstRand, Absa, Nedbank, and Capitec – down, or even made a significant dent in their earnings. I have worked with executives at South Africa's big traditional banks for nearly two decades, and for the most part, they always find a way to co-exist with new market entrants. In my opinion, Revolut's potential launch in South Africa isn't a culinary ex- plosion, but a subtle shift in the banking menu. It does, however, prompt a critical question: who's poised to adapt, and who risks being left with a stale offering? It's not about a total industry shake-up, but a targeted refinement of the digital ex- perience. The focus here is on the digitally-in- clined customer, a segment increasingly prioritising seamless, global financial access. Institutions that have built their reputations on premium digital services like Discovery Bank, may find themselves facing increased competition - they are of- fering a similar value proposition to Revo- lut, albeit with differing features. South Africa's digital banking landscape has been ripening over the last 10 years. Data from Statista shows that mobile app transaction volumes have grown signifi- cantly over the past decade and will con- tinue to grow, reflecting a shift towards digital banking for some segments of the banked population – digitally savvy, afflu- ent, and mass-affluent consumers. So, if your bank wants to stop Revolut catching the eye of those customers, what should you do? How South African banks should respond The 2024 South Africa Banking Consumer Study by Accenture found that consum- ers' main bank holds 73% of banking rev- enue, second in the world only to Spain. This tells us that South Africans are more loyal to their primary bank than Europeans or Americans, so banks should prioritise strategies that deepen customer loyalty and increase their share of wallet, mak- ing it harder for Revolut to entice existing customers. Here's how: - Adapt referral programmes, not just for new customers, but to reward existing customers for deeper engagement. - Leverage data and AI to offer person- alised financial tools within the existing app. This can include targeted savings goals, investment recommendations based on spending patterns, or customised budg- eting tools. By becoming an essential part of the customer's financial life, the bank increases stickiness. - Use agentic AI to proactively iden- tify and address potential customer pain points at scale, blending digital with the human touch (something purely digital banks struggle to do). - The Rapid Payments Programme (RPP), or PayShap, introduces a new ingre- dient to this mix. Will Revolut put Payshap at the heart of their offering, or treat it as a bolt-on afterthought to satisfy regula- tion? The South African banks should be weaving RPP into as many of their digital offerings as they can. Let's be real: Revolut's potential ar- rival isn't the main course at the braai. Banks that want to capture the affluent, digitally savvy customers - likely to form the backbone of your next generation of wealth – can't just stand by with their same old recipe. They need to play Revolut at their own (digital and AI) game, while maintaining local flavours that a European import can- not replicate. The question is: will you be serving up the same old bland side dish, or will you create a culinary masterpiece that keeps them coming back for more? n Heidi Custers is Global Strategy & Transfor- mation Director at Backbase. It's not about a total industry shake-up, but a targeted refinement of the digital experience. © Copyright IC Publications 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
South Africa's Bank Zero, Lesaka to Combine in $61 Million Deal
South African digital lender Bank Zero Mutual Bank, founded by the former chief of one of the country's top lenders, is combining with a unit of fintech firm Lesaka Technologies Inc. in a 1.91 billion-rand ($61 million) deal. Lesaka, which trades on both the Nasdaq and Johannesburg bourses, will buy all of the lender founded and chaired by Michael Jordaan, the former chief executive officer of FirstRand Ltd.'s First National Bank unit, pending regulatory approvals, the companies said in a statement Thursday.
Bloomberg
7 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
South African Consumer Confidence Recovers in Second Quarter
South African consumer confidence recovered in the second quarter as a proposed increase in consumer taxes was scrapped and an impasse in the coalition government over the budget ended. A quarterly index measuring consumer sentiment climbed to -10 in the three months through June from -20 in the previous quarter, FirstRand Ltd.'s First National Bank said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
Zawya
24-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Making a lasting impact: How data and corporate commitment can reshape ECDs in South Africa?
With nearly one million South African children still excluded from the early childhood development (ECD) ecosystem, urgent collaboration is needed to meet the country's 2030 early learning targets. An educator teaches young children as part of an early learning programme. Speaking at the 2025 Trialogue Business in Society Conference, FirstRand Group head of social investing, Kone Gugushe emphasised the pivotal role corporates can play in transforming early learning outcomes – calling for long-term, data-driven investment to help bridge the gap. The conference was held at The Galleria in Sandton, Johannesburg under the theme 'Driving impact, Inspiring change'. Strengthening ECD for lasting impact: a panel discussion at the Trialogue Business in Society Conference The FirstRand Foundation was one of six corporate sponsors who partnered with Trialogue to discuss pressing matters impacting the corporate social investment and development in South Africa. The Foundation and Trialogue presented a panel discussion entitled 'Strengthening early childhood development for lasting impact'. Kone Gugushe, head of social investing at FirstRand Group Gugushe was joined on the panel by Kulula Manona (head of the Chief Directorate on early childhood development in the Department of Basic Education [DBE]); Sonja Giese (executive director of DataDrive 2030); and Sizwe Nxasana (former FirstRand CEO and founder of Sifiso Learning Group). Prior to the panel discussion, Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, highlighted the need for sector collaboration to improve ECD outcomes in the country. FirstRand's two decades of impact in ECD FirstRand is a leader in the ECD space. It has supported more than 4,000 ECD centres over the past 20 years, affecting the lives of around 200,000 children. It has also trained more than 17,000 teachers. This long-term commitment has allowed it to tackle some of the more stubborn problems in the sector that shorter funding cycles tend to bypass. In the last four years, FirstRand has invested over R100m in initiatives such as: - ECD practitioner capacity building - Digital literacy training for teachers and learners - Development of learner resources - Support for learners with disabilities FirstRand is data-led, and this is one of the game-changers ECD needs, said Manona. She highlighted the Thrive By Five Index, a nationally represented dataset, which has helped the sector to understand the bigger picture. Importantly, using data to shift practices produces results in a relatively short space of time, according to Giese. This has the potential to dramatically shift outcomes for young children in years to come. 'There are very few things you can fix in four years, but four years can change the entire life of a four-year-old,' Giese pointed out. She challenged funders to adopt a 'growth mindset', however, and not use data simply to assess competency or compliance. 'We don't want to use data to tell our story – we want to use it to change our story,' she explained, adding that curiosity and a continuous learning mindset can make a big difference. Data shouldn't be collected solely for academic or donor reporting – rather, it should be democratised and used as a tool for creative-problem solving, said Giese. Funders and boards should be open to course-correction based on new evidence. She noted the value of learning from positive deviance, where some low-income ECD programmes outperform their well-off peers, offering insights for broader replication. 'A data-smart ECD ecosystem needs a clear mandate, tools that can be embedded in the data value chain, and data literacy so we can use data to shift behaviour and become thought leaders in the education space,' she asserted. She also urged corporates to deploy multi-year budgets, flexible funding, and non-financial assets to support ECD throughout the full learning cycle. The challenge of professionalising ECD While the panellists agreed on the need to professionalise ECD, Nxasana warned of the dangers of doing so without care. 'It is vital that the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), which is responsible for accreditation, works closely with the DBE, nonprofits and other stakeholders to ensure we don't collapse what is working, and fix what isn't currently working,' he said. ECD practitioners shouldn't be expected to professionalise in the manner of school teachers, especially as there are crucial factors to be taken into account in a child's first 1,000 days, including cognitive development and social welfare. 'ECD is not about imposing formal teacher models. It's about holistic development – cognitive, emotional, and physical,' he pointed out. At the same time, we need to be realistic about the tools and platforms ECD practitioners use. For example, WhatsApp has proved adequate for 'gogos' and young women running their ECD businesses from back rooms or garages in townships or rural villages, said Nxasana. He highlighted the need to build accessible, community-rooted training institutions, especially as there are no dedicated ECD colleges in the country. Each panellist asserted that the success of ECD systems hinges on well-supported practitioners. Professionalising the sector must go hand-in-hand with improved working conditions, secure and dignified wages, and ongoing mentorship and coaching. Gugushe said ECD practitioners also need access to resources, networks and ongoing support to strengthen their capabilities. As Manona noted, quality teaching is one of the five key pillars in the DBE's strategy for early learning – a strategy that must include scalable, affordable, and flexible pathways for ECD success.
