Pan-African fintech Mukuru has expanded its financial services in South Africa with the launch of the Mukuru Account & Card, giving customers access to a wider range of everyday banking services alongside its established remittance platform.
The new account has been introduced in partnership with Bank Zero, the licensed sponsor bank, and is enabled by Paymentology and Mastercard. It builds on Mukuru’s existing remittance and prepaid-card services, allowing customers to manage more of their everyday financial needs through a single account.
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Customers can now send electronic funds transfers and real-time payments to banks across South Africa, receive salaries and other incoming EFT payments, make purchases in stores and online, and withdraw cash. The account also allows customers to spend up to R150,000 per month and provides access to credit facilities and selected discounts on money transfers across Africa.
The launch builds on an established customer base. Mukuru says around 500,000 customers currently hold its prepaid card in South Africa, with migration to the new account already gaining momentum as customers gain access to additional functionality and lower fees.
For Mukuru, the account represents the next stage in its evolution from a remittance-focused business into a broader financial-services platform.
“For 22 years, we’ve been synonymous with cross-border money transfers,” Mukuru CEO Andy Jury said. “Now, together with Bank Zero, we can give them their everyday banking too: getting paid, paying rent, shopping and sending money across borders, all from one account.”
The new offering is also designed around the different ways customers across Africa manage money, including people who regularly move between cash and digital payments or support relatives in other provinces and countries.
Mukuru says its physical distribution network includes approximately 320,000 locations offering Mukuru services or cash-in/cash-out facilities. The company is combining this network with its digital channels to give customers different ways to access and use financial services.
The account is available through Mukuru branches, participating partner locations, customer service offices and roaming field ambassadors across South Africa. Customers can also register through the Mukuru app and WhatsApp.
Chief Growth Officer Juan Seco said the company’s objective is to ensure that customers who primarily transact in cash are not excluded from broader financial services.
The South African launch follows Mukuru’s recent introduction of the Mukuru Wallet & Card in Botswana, extending its regional financial-services offering. The company currently operates across several African markets, with e-money licences in Botswana, Zambia and Malawi, as well as a deposit-taking microfinance licence in Zimbabwe.
Mukuru says it now serves more than 17 million customers and has processed more than 100 million transactions across Africa and key international corridors. The expansion reflects the growing convergence between remittances, digital payments and everyday financial services across African markets. For Mukuru customers in South Africa, the new account brings these services together within a single financial platform.
