South Africa’s largest bank changes its official name

Capitec, South Africa’s largest bank, has changed its official name from Capitec Bank Holdings Limited to Capitec Limited.

The notice was gazetted on 2 October 2026 by the Prudential Authority, in line with South Africa’s 1990 Banks Act.

“Capitec Bank Holdings Limited, registered as a controlling company in terms of section 44 of the Banks Act, changed its name to Capitec Limited with effect from 1 August 2026,” the gazette said.

Capitec was founded in 2001 by Michiel le Roux and Riaan Stassen, and the company was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in February 2002.

When the business was launched in 2001, it traded under Daxacom, which was suggested by Le Roux. However, it was not popular.

Le Roux wanted the name to be aspirational and to strongly suggest that the bank was technologically advanced.

The group also took a page out of the late billionaire Anton Rupert’s book by pitching the brand’s image slightly above its target.

Smartfin founder Werner du Plessis came up with the name ‘Capitech’ by combining ‘capital’ and ‘technology’.

However, it did not look right on a whiteboard. Carl Fischer, chief executive of marketing and corporate affairs, got up and drew a line through the ‘h’.

After he had sat down, there was a moment’s silence, and the team knew that Capitec was the right name.

Today, Capitec is one of the best-known and most powerful brands in South Africa and on the continent.

In 2023, Capitec was ranked the second-strongest African banking brand, and in 2024, it was recognised as the best at capturing market share.

Capitec name change

The latest name change from Capitec Bank Holdings Limited to Capitec Limited is mostly cosmetic.

It was first announced in August 2026, after the banking giant’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 31 July.

The change came as the company looked to expand beyond traditional banking into broader financial and customer services.

“Indicative of our journey beyond traditional banking is the recent name change from Capitec Bank Holdings Limited to Capitec Limited,” the company said

“This reflects our growing focus on delivering a wider range of value-adding solutions to our clients.”

Outside of traditional banking, the group has expanded to offer Smart ID services at 248 of its branches and aims to extend this across all of its branches.

Capitec said this expansion reflected its commitment to being more than a bank by delivering value to its clients through additional services.

It is also looking to launch new stokvel accounts and expand its presence in the telecoms market through Capitec Connect.

While the bank will change its name, it will continue to trade on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) under the same ticker.

It will also continue to serve the emerging middle class and focus on affordability, accessibility, personal service, and simplicity.

This strategy worked exceptionally well over the last 25 years, growing its base to 26.6 million active clients, making it South Africa’s largest bank by customer numbers.

With a market cap of R486 billion, it is also the largest individual bank by value in South Africa. Standard Bank is a close second on R480 billion.

Although FirstRand, at R502 billion, has a higher market cap than Capitec and Standard Bank, it is not a single bank.