Sanlam targets 4- million banking customers by 2030

Sanlam is targeting as many as 4-million banking customers by 2030 through its deepening partnership with Patrice Motsepe-backed GoTyme and a R10bn loan book as the financial services group prepares to go on the offensive in the increasingly crowded banking sector.

The group, which also counts Motsepe as its single largest shareholder, is to soft launch its new banking app from GoTyme in November. It will have credit, savings, and group-wide rewards functionalities.

The financial services major, worth R178bn, expects its banking proposition to break even by 2030 — with the plan to spend as much as R200m annually as it scale the bank. Sanlam has set a target of attracting 2 million to 4 million banking clients by 2030.

Unlike rival Old Mutual, which sought and got a banking licence to launch its banking proposition, OM Bank, in 2025, Sanlam has opted to deepen its relationship with GoTyme, essentially making the lender its banking platform.

The app will play a central role in the banking proposition, armed with AI-driven insights while anchored in relationship-driven advice.

Anton Gildenhuys, CEO of Sanlam Life and Savings , said at a capital markets day this week the company has a right to win in the banking foray — saying the bank build is important in the group’s evolution.

“We are at an inflection point. We lead today, but the market has evolved, and we are adapting,” Gildenhuys said.

Sanlam is looking to replicate the success of its Indian venture, Shriram, whose banking app has amassed more than 20-million clients.

The deepening relationship between Sanlam and GoTyme, who between them have about 17-million customers, comes as insurance groups realise they have to evolve and offer financial services beyond insurance products.

The mooted Sanlam and GoTyme app will have saving capabilities, and users will be able to transfer money, pay bills, buy electricity and data, and apply for credit, among other functions.

GoTyme aims to be a top-three retail bank in the country across all metrics, including return on equity, in the next five years as the lender looks to up the ante and get a bigger slice of the mass market, dominated by Capitec.

Competition for market share in the mass market is heating up, with the likes of OM Bank and Pepkor also looking to make inroads. Pepkor, which has more than 30-million customers, is fine-tuning its banking play after being awarded a banking licence in 2025. The retail group is expected to spend R1bn on its bank build ahead of its launch in 2027.

OM, which marked Old Mutual’s re-entry into the highly competitive banking sector after it severed ties with Nedbank nearly a decade ago, ended the six months to June with 742,000 customers and R1.4bn in deposits.

The fledgling lender led by Clarence Nethengwe has set itself a target of 2.5-million to 2.8-million customers by the 2028 financial year and as much as R10bn in deposits.