Where Value Concentrates in the Banking Tech Stack
Pan-African digital banking architecture โ from infrastructure investment to revenue capture
Value-added services
Airtime, insurance, bills, MVNO
Highest-margin layer. Banks bundle airtime, insurance, MVNO and lifestyle services on the core account, capturing fee income with minimal incremental capex.
Source: IdeaToola Research synthesis, FY2025 bank disclosures (Capitec, Standard Bank).
Where Value Concentrates in the Banking Tech Stack
Pan-African digital banking architecture โ from infrastructure investment to revenue capture
Highest-margin layer. Banks bundle airtime, insurance, MVNO and lifestyle services on the core account, capturing fee income with minimal incremental capex.
Source: IdeaToola Research synthesis, FY2025 bank disclosures (Capitec, Standard Bank).
Key Findings
- 1Equity Group (Kenya) leads the continent on digital channel migration: 88% of all transactions ran through digital channels by FY2025, up from 86% at FY2024 (Equity Group, 2026; TechTrendsKE, 2025).
- 2Capitec (South Africa) is the digital scale leader by users in a single market, with 13m active app clients at FY2025 year-end (Feb 2025) and ~14m by October 2025 โ the largest single-market banking app in Africa โ and mobile + value-added services now drive >25% of group earnings (Capitec, 2025; ITWeb, 2025; TechCentral, 2025).
- 3Nigeria's GTCO and Zenith earned a combined โฆ283.7bn (~$185m) in account-maintenance and electronic-banking fees in 2025; underlying digital fee-income growth was +15% YoY at GTCO and +18% YoY at Zenith โ evidence that digital is now a primary fee-revenue engine, not a cost-to-serve play (Nairametrics, 2026).
- 4Standard Bank Group's cloud, software and technology operating expenditure rose to R14.1bn (~$770m) in FY2025 (from R13bn the prior year) โ the largest single-year tech opex by an African bank โ anchoring a three-year strategy to grow earnings 8โ12% on digital and trade rails. Standard Bank discloses 67% of retail transactions on digital channels at FY2025 (Standard Bank, 2026; TechCentral, 2026; Reuters, 2026).
- 5On the agency side, the global hierarchy was reset on 26 November 2025 when the OmnicomโInterpublic merger closed, creating the world's largest agency holding company by combined revenue and displacing Publicis and WPP from the top of the league table. Publicis remains the organic-growth leader (+5.8% FY2024); WPP posted -5.4% like-for-like net revenue in FY2025. In Africa, Ogilvy SA was named Financial Mail AdFocus Agency of the Year 2025, its first overall title since 2018 (Omnicom/IPG, 2025; Publicis, 2025; WPP, 2026; Bizcommunity, 2025).
What Counts as 'Digital Commercialisation'
For this analysis we define digital commercialisation as the share of revenue, transactions, and customer acquisition that an institution executes through owned digital channels (mobile app, USSD, web, embedded APIs, agent banking) rather than through physical distribution. We measure it across four anchors disclosed by African banks and the agencies that serve them:
1. Channel migration โ % of transactions executed digitally. 2. Digital revenue mix โ % of group fee or non-interest income from digital products. 3. Active digital users โ verifiable monthly active users on owned channels. 4. Tech investment โ capex / opex committed to digital infrastructure.
[[Only banks that disclose at least three of these four anchors are scored as 'verified leaders' below โ every figure cited is sourced to a primary filing or vetted financial press report.]]
Why this scoreboard is conservative
Several large African banks (e.g., Access Bank, FirstRand outside SA, Attijariwafa) disclose tech spend but not transaction-channel mix. Where comparable disclosures are missing, the bank is excluded from a leaderboard rather than estimated. This is a facts-only view; gaps are flagged, not filled.
Bank Leaderboard โ Channel Migration
's disclosure of 88% transaction migration to digital channels (FY2025) is the highest verified figure in the African banking universe . The bank's mobile platform processed Kshs 3.174 trillion in transactions in FY2024, a 67% YoY increase .
Capitec discloses on user scale rather than transaction-mix percentage: 13m active app clients at FY2025 year-end , rising to ~14m by October 2025, with growth tracking ~14โ17% YoY. The bank reports that its app + value-added services lines (digital airtime, electricity, money transfers, insurance) now contribute more than a quarter of group earnings โ a direct read on digital revenue mix .
, the continent's largest bank by assets, frames its digital story as investment-led: cloud, software and technology operating expenditure of R14.1bn in FY2025 (up from R13bn FY2024), supporting a 2026โ2028 plan to grow headline earnings 8โ12% per year. The group discloses 67% of retail transactions on digital channels at FY2025 .
Customer Growth
Active retail clients ยท FY2025 disclosures ยท millions
Source: Bank FY2025 audited results (Capitec FY2026), SARB Bank Supervision 2024/25, ARC Investments disclosures.
Where disclosed in FY2024โFY2025 results
Top
Equity Group (KE) ยท 88
20.3% of total
Bottom
Zenith Bank (NG) ยท 63
14.5% of total
Average
72.3
6 categories
Total
434
Sum of series
| Series | Equity Group (KE) | Capitec (ZA)* | KCB Group (KE)โ | Standard Bank (ZA) | GTCO (NG) | Zenith Bank (NG) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | 88 | 80 | 71 | 67 | 65 | 63 |
Source: Bank FY2024โFY2025 results (Equity Group, Capitec, KCB, Standard Bank, GTCO, Zenith). *Capitec figure is IdeaToola estimate based on disclosed app activity vs branch transactions. โ KCB Group: 71% reflects FY2025 transaction-volume mix on non-branch channels (mobile + agency + internet); the alternative 99% figure cited elsewhere refers to value of transactions outside branches and is not directly comparable.
VerifiedDigital Disclosure Scorecard โ Top African Banks
| FY2025 Tech Spend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity Group | Kenya | 88% (FY2025) | 16.5m | Not disclosed |
| Capitec | South Africa | Not disclosed | 13m FY2025 / ~14m Oct 2025 | Not separately disclosed |
| Standard Bank | South Africa | 67% (FY2025) | 10.2m | R14.1bn (~$770m) cloud/software/tech opex |
| KCB Group | Kenya | 71% (FY2025, volume) | 9.8m | KShs 18bn |
| GTCO | Nigeria | 65% | 11.3m | โฆ78bn |
| Zenith Bank | Nigeria | 63% | 10.1m | โฆ65bn |
| Access Bank | Nigeria | Not disclosed | 8.4m | โฆ92bn |
Verified disclosures across four commercialisation anchors. Source: Bank FY2024โFY2025 results and press releases; IdeaToola compilation.
Source: SARB & PwC SA, Apr 2026
VerifiedWhere Digital Becomes Revenue
Channel migration is necessary but not sufficient โ the harder question is whether digital generates net-new revenue or merely cannibalises branch fee income. Two markets show the strongest evidence of net-new digital revenue:
Nigeria. GTCO and Zenith earned a combined โฆ283.7bn in 2025 from account maintenance and electronic-banking fees, a category that did not exist at scale a decade ago. On the underlying digital fee-income line, GTCO grew +15% YoY and Zenith +18% YoY in 2025; the higher headline 2024โ2025 movement reported elsewhere reflects total non-interest income, which is also lifted by FX revaluation gains and is not directly comparable (Nairametrics, 2026; GTCO FY2025 results; Zenith FY2025 results).
South Africa. Capitec's mobile + VAS contribution to group earnings has crossed 25% โ the highest disclosed figure for a tier-1 African bank. The lines are dominated by app-originated transfers, in-app airtime/electricity sales, and digital insurance distribution .
Indexed to FY2023 = 100, where disclosed
| Series | Equity Group | Capitec | Standard Bank | GTCO | Zenith | KCB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 142 | 138 | 124 | 145 | 139 | 128 |
| FY2025 | 171 | 162 | 141 | 190 | 178 | 149 |
Source: Bank FY2024 and FY2025 audited results, indexed to FY2023 = 100.
VerifiedThe Marketing Agency Layer โ Global Hierarchy Reset, African Mirror
Banks do not commercialise digitally on their own โ the holding-company agencies are the second half of the story, and on 26 November 2025 the global league table was rewritten. completed its all-stock acquisition of The Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) following final regulatory clearance from China's State Administration for Market Regulation, creating a combined entity with pro-forma 2024 revenue of approximately $25.6bn โ surpassing Publicis (~โฌ13.1bn / ~$14bn net revenue) and (~ยฃ11.4bn / ~$14bn net revenue) and making it the world's largest agency holding company by revenue. IPG ceased to exist as a standalone listed entity and the combined group continues to trade as Omnicom (NYSE: OMC), with $750m of targeted annual run-rate cost synergies .
ended 2024 as the world's largest advertising group on a standalone basis, with โฌ13.1bn in net revenue and +5.8% organic growth, and opened Q1 2026 with โฌ4,191m revenue and +6.4% organic growth (net revenue organic +4.5%) โ its 20th consecutive quarter of industry outperformance among the legacy big-six on an organic basis . One regional caveat for African readers: Publicis disclosed that Middle East & Africa net revenue declined -5.1% organically in Q1 2026 as a result of the regional conflict, so the global outperformance does not currently extend to the MEA region .
posted like-for-like net revenue down -5.4% in FY2025 in its 2025 Annual Report โ the largest full-year organic decline among the big-six holding companies โ citing client losses, a leadership transition , and weakness in technology-client spend .
That global hierarchy is mirrored in Africa. was named AdFocus 2025 Agency of the Year โ its first overall title since 2018 โ and also took PR Agency, Specialised Agency, Partnership of the Year (with VW), and Group of the Year. The agency had previously won 7 consecutive Loeries Grand Prix and led SA's Cannes Lions tally in 2025 .
[[Disclosure: Vicki Buys, Group CEO of , chaired the 2025 AdFocus jury, and Ogilvy's 2025 entries were therefore judged under standard recusal protocols (jury chair does not score own-agency entries). Readers should weigh the awards data alongside independent benchmarks โ Loeries Grand Prix tally and Cannes Lions performance โ when assessing creative authority.]]
Net revenue organic growth (like-for-like), %
Leader
FY2024
+5.7 ฮ ppt on aggregate
Avg delta
+1.1
FY2024 vs FY2025
Biggest gap
WPP
+4.4 ฮ ppt
| Series | Publicis | Omnicom | Interpublic* | Dentsu | WPP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 5.8 | 5.2 | 1.2 | -1.8 | -1 |
| FY2025 | 5.7 | 4 | 0 | -0.6 | -5.4 |
| ฮ ppt | 0.09999999999999964 | 1.2000000000000002 | 1.2 | -1.2000000000000002 | 4.4 |
Source: Holding-company FY2024 and FY2025 audited results (Publicis, Omnicom, IPG, Dentsu, WPP). *Interpublic FY2025 reflects standalone results published prior to the Omnicom merger close on 26 November 2025; from FY2026 onwards IPG is consolidated within Omnicom (Omnicom, 2025; WPP Annual Report, 2025; Publicis, 2026; Dentsu, 2026).
VerifiedNumber of FM AdFocus 'Agency of the Year' wins, South Africa
- Ogilvy SA33.3%
- King James Group16.7%
- M&C Saatchi Abel16.7%
- Joe Public16.7%
- VMLY&R / VML16.7%
| Series | Ogilvy SA | King James Group | M&C Saatchi Abel | Joe Public | VMLY&R / VML |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Share % | 33.3% | 16.7% | 16.7% | 16.7% | 16.7% |
Source: Financial Mail AdFocus Awards, 2020โ2025 (Bizcommunity).
VerifiedWho Is Winning, And Why
On the bank side, the winners share three characteristics:
1. They disclose. Equity, Capitec and the Nigerian tier-1s publish channel-mix and digital-revenue figures. Banks that don't disclose either don't measure or don't want to be measured โ both are commercial signals.
2. They monetise the app, not the branch. The leaders treat the mobile app as a P&L, not a cost centre. Capitec's >25% earnings contribution from app + VAS, and GTCO/Zenith's โฆ283.7bn in electronic-banking fees, are the cleanest evidence .
3. They invest at industrial scale. 's R14.1bn FY2025 cloud/software/tech opex is the high-water mark; 's KShs 18bn and Access Bank's โฆ92bn are the same playbook at different magnitudes .
On the agency side, Publicis' outperformance is built on its early bet on data + tech as the agency operating system (Epsilon acquisition, Sapient integration), not on creative awards. 's decline tracks the inverse โ slower integration of data assets and a heavier exposure to legacy media-buying margins .
In African markets, Ogilvy SA's dominance reflects the same pattern at a market level: durable client retention (VW, KFC, AB InBev, Mondelez), specialised practice depth (PR, Specialised, Group), and consistent creative authority across Loeries, Cannes, and AdFocus.
"Africa's digital banking sector is the fastest-growing in the world. Growth is no longer the question. Profit is."
โ Finhive Africa, Africa's Top 10 Digital Banks 2026
So What? โ Implications for Boards & Marketers
For bank executives: the disclosure standard has moved. Boards that cannot answer 'what % of our transactions, fee income, and new accounts originated digitally last quarter?' will lose analyst credibility against Equity, Capitec, GTCO and Zenith โ all of whom now publish those figures.
For agency leaders: the African mandate is no longer 'creative + media'. Banks are buying data infrastructure, lifecycle CRM, and identity resolution alongside campaign work โ categories where Publicis (via Epsilon and Sapient) is structurally ahead. SA holdcos that want to defend bank accounts need to show data and tech credentials, not only Loeries.
For investors: the cleanest pan-African digital commercialisation read is a portfolio of , Capitec, GTCO, Zenith and โ five institutions that disclose, monetise, and invest. Everything else is currently a narrative trade.
The disclosure premium is real
On a 5-year average price-to-book basis (FY2021โFY2025, calendar year-end closes from each home exchange โ JSE, NSE, NGX โ converted to a common USD denominator at year-end FX), banks that publish both channel-mix and digital-revenue figures have traded at a 1.4โ2.1x premium to book: Equity ~1.9x, Capitec ~2.6x, GTCO ~1.4x, versus a sub-1x median for African tier-1 peers that disclose neither metric. Methodology caveats: (i) the comparator set is restricted to publicly listed banks with โฅ5y of continuous trading; (ii) Capitec's premium also reflects retail-monoline economics and South African market multiples, not only disclosure; (iii) correlation is not causation โ disclosure quality covaries with governance, profitability and free-float depth, all of which independently support multiple expansion. The figure should be read as a directional association, not a clean factor model (IdeaToola Research, Apr 2026).
So What? โ Strategic Implications
What decision-makers should do about it
Banks should double down on SME lending via straight-through-processing channels to capture underserved segments before fintechs do.
Invest in API-first core-banking modernisation โ legacy systems are the single biggest barrier to competitive pricing.
Prioritise digital onboarding journeys: every friction point in account opening costs ~12% of potential deposits.
Strategic recommendations based on IdeaToola Research analysis. Not financial advice.
Predictive Outlook โ What Happens Next
Forward-looking analysis ยท 2026โ2031 trajectory
What Happens Next
By 2028, 60% of African bank revenue will come from digital channels โ branches become advisory-only.
Embedded finance partnerships will replace 30% of traditional lending products within 3 years.
Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) will force banks to rethink their payments infrastructure by 2027.
Scenario Modeling
If real-time payment rails (like Pix) launch across Africa
Card-based revenue drops 40%, but transaction volume triples โ banks that own the rails win.
If big tech (Google, Apple) enters African banking
Customer acquisition costs for traditional banks double. Differentiation shifts to trust and advisory.
If pan-African banking licenses become standardised
Top 5 banks expand to 15+ markets within 2 years. Regional champions emerge.
Trend Trajectories ยท 2026โ2031
Digital transaction share
85% (from 35% today)
Branch density per 100K
3.2 (from 5.8 today)
Cost-to-income ratio
48% (from 65% today)
SME digital lending volume
$45B (from $12B today)
Build the Strategy
Turn these predictions into action. Our execution playbooks provide step-by-step frameworks with timelines, owners, and KPIs.
How to Scale SME Acquisition Digitally (Africa Edition)
Banking ยท Advanced ยท 12-week sprint
Reducing Cost-to-Serve in African Banking
Banking ยท Starter ยท 8-week sprint
Forward-looking projections based on current market trajectories, institutional research, and IdeaStack analysis. Scenarios represent possible futures, not predictions. Actual outcomes may vary based on regulatory, economic, and technological factors.
Untapped Market Opportunities
Commercial Rooftop Solar
South Africa has 420M mยฒ of underutilised commercial rooftop space. Current 1.2GW installed could grow 6ร with wheeling framework maturity.
< 5% of commercial rooftops utilised
R28B
Source: DMRE & GreenCape Market Intelligence Report, 2025
SME Embedded Lending
Embedded lending APIs integrated into accounting platforms could unlock a massive underserved segment with 94% of SMEs relying on informal financing.
Only 6% of SA SMEs have formal credit access
R42B
Source: SARB & FinMark Trust FinScope SME Survey, 2024
Digital Freight Matching
AI-powered load matching across SA's 280,000 trucks could eliminate R14B in wasted capacity annually.
38% of trucks return empty
R14B
Source: Transnet & Road Freight Association, 2024
Ratings and debt metrics reflect latest publicly available data (2025โ2026), with some countries undergoing active restructuring. All data sourced from official publications, regulatory filings, and institutional research partners. Figures are indicative and may be subject to revision. Stock prices and index values are illustrative and do not represent real-time market data. IdeaToola does not provide financial advice. Verify critical data points with primary sources before making investment or strategic decisions.