Tag: FinTech

The rise of financial technology (fintech) in Africa is not just a story of innovation; it's a narrative about empowerment and transformation. As the continent continues to grapple with the challenges of limited access to traditional banking services, fintech has emerged as a beacon of hope, offering a path towards financial inclusion and economic growth.

The financial year to 31 March 2024 (FY24) saw the culmination of four years of strategic planning, with MultiChoice Group (MultiChoice or the group) now fully operational in its three core segments, namely video entertainment, interactive entertainment and fintech.

The integration of finance and technology, known as fintech, has revolutionised traditional banking and payment systems, transforming how we live, work and travel. Similarly, travel technology, or traveltech, has empowered travellers with convenient booking platforms and personalised experiences.

In the second half of the year, the Group made significant progress delivering on its strategic priorities, positioning it well for long-term value creation. The ongoing open ended repurchase programme is creating significant value for shareholders and actions taken in H2 to streamline operations have improved profitability. The Group has increased confidence in achieving its H1 2025 profit ambition, while continuing to deliver high growth.

In the second half of the year the Group made significant progress delivering on its strategic priorities, positioning it well for long-term value creation. The ongoing open ended repurchase programme is creating significant value for shareholders and actions taken in H2 to streamline operations have improved profitablity. The group has increased confidence in achieving its H1 2025 profit ambition, while continuing to deliver high growth.

In recognition of the increase in the adoption of digital channels by financial consumers, in late 2021 the FSCA published a Digital Banking Research Report on the state of digital banking activities in South Africa.

The pandemic accelerated an existing trend toward widely distributed workforces, set in motion by growing globalisation and digitalisation. This creates a number of challenges for companies in terms of managing these dispersed employees.

Digitalisation was a transformative trend sweeping across industries even before the global COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we work, shop and interact. Society's ongoing transition to smart and sustainable living leverages information and communication technologies (ICT) to improve the quality of life and unlock greater convenience. And ubiquitous and seamless access to digital services underpins this trend, with the digitalisation of banking a core enabler of the emerging smart economy.

Digitalisation was already a key theme in the growth strategies of financial services providers before the global COVID-19 pandemic struck. The need to innovate in response to shifting customer demands around engagement and experience, rising industry disruption from digital-native challenger banks or pivots from major digital-native businesses, and the need to respond to a dynamic regulatory environment has spurred digital transformation and entrenched an innovation agenda across the industry.

The draft Conduct of Financial Institutions Bill was recently published. Once enacted, the CoFI Bill may become one of the first pieces of legislation that explicitly seeks to develop fintech regulation in South Africa.