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Open Banking has landed in South Africa, with the recent launch of Spot Money – and it’s going to change the way consumers manage and control their money by giving them more choices around banking and financial services.
But what is Open Banking? Why does it matter? How will consumers benefit? We asked Andre Hugo, the CEO of Spot Money, to give us the lowdown.
What is Open Banking?
First and foremost, Open Banking is bank neutral. That means it works with any bank and financial service provider to give you more choice when it comes to managing your money. It also gives customers the freedom of choice to select available offers from multiple service providers.
Spot Money launches South Africa’s first Open Banking offering
Spot Money offers a mobile open banking platform that integrates with various bank and payment services.
Described as a positive move for the South African fintech (an innovation that aims to compete with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services landscape) Spot Money’s Open Banking marketplace will “bring a new dimension to enabling consumers to manage and control their money,” according to the company CEO.
The move follows the 2020 acquisition of Virgin Money South Africa, and central to the rebrand of the company is the launch of the latest version of the Spot banking app.
• Former Virgin Money SA executives, with the backing of a private equity firm, have opened SA s first open banking platform called Spot Money.
Photo: Getty Images
When Richard Branson s Virgin Group recruited him to start a fully fledged bank in South Africa, Andre Hugo thought the country did not need another bank, but rather something to turn the industry on its head.
Fast forward to 2021, the former Virgin Money SA CEO has started South Africa s first open banking operation called Spot Money.
Launched on Wednesday, Spot Money is a super app that doubles up as a payment app, a marketplace and a rewards programme - to name a few of its functions.
Jan 29, 2021
Spot Money has launched what it believes to the be South Africa’s first Open Banking offering.
The move follows the 2020 acquisition of the Virgin Money South Africa business by a leading South African private equity firm, in partnership with the local executive management team.
Central to the rebrand of the company is the launch of the latest version of the Spot app.
Andre Hugo, who continues at the helm of the Spot Money business as CEO, says the app was a significantly revised offering which would introduce Spot’s entry into Open Banking, and heralds the beginning of a fundamentally different business strategy as the company drives fintech forward in South Africa.