Pepkor’s PlusB Bank Aims for 1.8 Million Customers, Challenging Capitec’s Reign

• Pepkor is set to launch its commercial bank, PlusB, in April 2027, taking direct aim at Capitec's mass banking dominance
• The retail giant plans to turn its 6,500-plus stores into physical banking hubs to reach millions of South Africans
• Pepkor holds a database of 32 million client touchpoints that will drive its data-first lending and savings strategy

South Africa's banking landscape could look very different by 2027. Pepkor, the retail group behind household names like Pep and Ackermans, has confirmed plans to launch a fully-fledged commercial bank called PlusB in April 2027, with its sights firmly set on the mass market that Capitec has long called its own, according to a report by the Daily Investor.

The move is not a random diversification. Pepkor has spent years quietly building the infrastructure to make this work. The group already operates credit, device financing through its FoneYam product and payment ecosystems. Now it wants to pull all of those threads together into a single platform that includes transactional accounts, savings products, and credit facilities.

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Pepkor's data advantage

What makes PlusB's entry compelling is the scale of data behind it. Pepkor has access to roughly 32 million client touchpoints collected across its wide retail network. The strategy mirrors what made Capitec successful: use detailed behavioural data to understand how customers earn, spend, and save, and build financial products around those real habits rather than traditional credit scores alone.

Advances in computing power mean that analysing this kind of data at scale is now far more accessible than it was a decade ago, which lowers both the risk of lending and the cost of entering the market.

6,500 stores become banking hubs

Perhaps Pepkor's biggest advantage over a traditional bank is physical reach. With more than 6,500 retail stores spread across South Africa, the group plans to convert its existing locations into banking service points. For millions of South Africans who live far from a conventional bank branch, this kind of accessibility could be a genuine drawcard.

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The group has set an ambitious but specific target: 1.8 million primary banking customers within five years of launching. Whether PlusB can chip away at Capitec's loyal customer base remains to be seen. The combination of retail reach, behavioural data, and an integrated product offering means South Africa's banking competition is about to get a great deal more interesting.

5 Briefly News bank-related articles

• Absa Bank joined a growing list of South African banks now offering Home Affairs Smart ID and passport application services.
• A man shared a video of himself depositing coins at a Capitec ATM, and Mzansi was concerned about the bank charges he would incur for depositing R42.20.
• Capitec Bank expanded its local branches to make banking more accessible to people in different areas while maintaining affordable fees for everyday South Africans.
• A bank employee shared the negotiation tactics she used to lower her personal car interest rate to a single-digit figure, and many social media users promised to try the same.
• A local woman left many social media users astonished after sharing a video of herself paying with her torn Capitec Bank card at a local grocery outlet.

Source: Briefly News