Pepkor Holdings is looking for a banking chief as it plans to open branches using its store network in South Africa to reach millions of lower-income customers.
Bloomberg reported that, in a job posting dated 11 March, the retailer said that the senior leader will be responsible for driving the shift to a “fully integrated transactional-banking model” across more than 2,500 outlets in South Africa.
“This is a critical role that demands an entrepreneurial spirit, a deep understanding of retail banking, and the ability to execute large-scale strategic initiatives,” the company said.
Pepkor received approval from South African authorities last year to establish a banking presence and bought a financial technology platform to support this expansion.
In December 2025, the company also announced that it had appointed Richard Wainwright as an independent non-executive director.
He served as chief executive officer of Investec Bank, one of South Africa’s largest banks, for just over eight years until 2024.
This is as Pepkor prepares to join other retailers—including the country’s largest grocer, Shoprite—in using their rapidly growing consumer data gathered from loyalty programs to offer banking solutions to South Africans.
Pepkor Holdings is Africa’s largest seller of clothing and mobile phones, and its target customers are low-income customers who have no account or are underserved by traditional lenders.
Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht also explained that its Money Market product was specifically designed for lower-income customers, including people who received government grants.
South Africa’s largest bank by customers—Capitec—is also currently the country’s most popular among grant recipients and lower-income South Africans. This is a big part of the bank’s massive success.
Capitec’s primary customer base has monthly incomes ranging from R5,000 to R40,000, which which will undoubtedly overlap Pep Bank’s target market.
Banking industry analysts believe that incumbent banks and new players looking to make a mark in the industry, such as OM Bank, should be concerned about Shoprite and Pepkor’s push into banking.
Aside from an extensive presence across thousands of locations in South Africa, Shoprite has valuable consumer spending data that could benefit a banking operation.
Many local retailers already offer basic financial services such as fund transfers, bill payments and cash withdrawals.
Revenue at Pepkor’s fintech unit rose 31% to R16.6 billion in the year through 30 September, accounting for 17% of the company’s total sales.
By opening Pep Bank within its existing stores, the retailer can roll out branches quickly and attract customers who already frequent its discount outlets.
Reported with Bloomberg.
