OM Bank

OM Bank is a digital-only bank in South Africa established by Old Mutual, the financial-services group that owns and operates the brand. It was created to serve retail customers through mobile and web-based banking rather than through a standalone branch or ATM network. The bank focuses on what Old Mutual describes as the upper-income mass-market and lower-income affluent segments, with a stated target of customers earning approximately R8,000 to R80,000 per month at the time of its public launch. The project developed over several years. In 2016, Old Mutual partnered with 10x Banking, the UK banking-technology company founded by former Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins, to support the development of the new bank. Old Mutual applied for a South African banking licence in 2022 and completed the bank's core systems by the end of 2023. The core-systems programme was reported to have cost R1.75 billion. In April 2024, the South African Prudential Authority approved Old Mutual's establishment of the bank under section 16 of the Banks Act. Old Mutual's board subsequently approved an additional R800 million for testing and marketing in 2024. OM Bank was tested internally with Old Mutual employees and with a limited group of invited clients before a soft launch in 2025. It opened to the public in September 2025. The bank could not use Old Mutual as its registered banking name because of regulatory requirements, resulting in the separate OM Bank identity. Nevertheless, Old Mutual intended to use its established customer base, brand recognition, distribution network and branch presence to accelerate customer acquisition. The bank offers transactional and savings accounts, credit cards and access to Old Mutual's broader rewards programme. Customers open and manage accounts through a web browser or mobile application. OM Bank does not operate its own branches or ATMs, although customers can use Old Mutual's South African branch network and obtain cash services through partner supermarket chains, including Shoprite, Boxer, Checkers and Pick n Pay. OM Bank entered a South African market that already included digital-focused institutions such as TymeBank, Bank Zero and Discovery Bank. Old Mutual argued that its later arrival could be advantageous because it had been able to observe the market and incorporate lessons from earlier digital-bank launches. Early growth targets were ambitious: reporting in January 2026 indicated that the bank aimed to reach break-even in its 2028 financial year and estimated that profitability would require approximately 2.5 million to 3 million customers. The same reporting said the bank had about 150,000 customers in early November 2025 and was receiving approximately 4,000 to 5,000 new sign-ups per day in January 2026. In June 2026, reports stated that the bank had reached 473,000 clients and R541 million in retail deposits. Old Mutual also confirmed plans to integrate its Old Mutual Finance division into OM Bank, including the transfer of Money Account customers. These growth and integration plans position OM Bank as a central component of Old Mutual's South African retail-finance strategy.

OM Bank emerged from Old Mutual's long-term effort to create a digital banking capability in South Africa. In 2016, Old Mutual partnered with 10x Banking, a UK-based banking-technology company established by former Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins. The partnership provided the technological and strategic foundation for a new bank designed to operate without the conventional branch and ATM infrastructure associated with established retail banks. Old Mutual moved toward formal authorisation during the early 2020s. It applied for a South African banking licence in 2022 and completed the bank's core systems by the end of 2023. The development programme represented a substantial investment, reported at R1.75 billion. In April 2024, the South African Prudential Authority approved Old Mutual's application to establish the bank under section 16 of the Banks Act. Old Mutual's board approved a further R800 million for testing and marketing during 2024. The bank conducted a controlled testing phase involving Old Mutual employees and a limited number of invited clients. It then soft-launched in 2025 before opening to the general public in September of that year. Regulatory requirements prevented the bank from registering under the Old Mutual name, so it adopted the OM Bank identity. Although separately branded, it remained an Old Mutual subsidiary and was intended to benefit from the group's customer relationships, reputation, distribution capabilities and South African branch network. OM Bank was designed as a digital-only operation. Customers use a website or mobile application to sign up, transact and manage their accounts. The bank has no dedicated physical branches or ATMs, but Old Mutual customers can use the parent group's branches, and OM Bank arranged cash-based services through supermarket groups such as Shoprite, Boxer, Checkers and Pick n Pay. Its initial product range included transactional and savings accounts and credit cards, with integration into Old Mutual Rewards. The launch placed OM Bank into an increasingly competitive South African digital-banking market that included TymeBank, Bank Zero and Discovery Bank. Old Mutual acknowledged that OM Bank entered after several competitors but presented the delay as a strategic benefit: the group had been able to observe the market, identify effective practices and avoid approaches that had not worked for earlier entrants. The bank targeted customers in the upper-income mass-market and lower-income affluent segments, with a launch-period income focus of approximately R8,000 to R80,000 per month. Growth and scale became central to the bank's early strategy. Reporting in January 2026 said that OM Bank aimed to reach break-even by its 2028 financial year and believed it would need between 2.5 million and 3 million customers to become profitable. The estimate incorporated inactive or lightly active accounts, including a projected 500,000 dormant customers and 700,000 customers expected to be less active. An early November 2025 update placed the customer base at around 150,000, while January 2026 reporting indicated daily sign-ups of roughly 4,000 to 5,000. The bank said its first annual results were expected in March 2026. By June 2026, reports described OM Bank as having 473,000 clients and R541 million in retail deposits. At the same time, Old Mutual confirmed that Old Mutual Finance would be integrated into OM Bank, including the movement of Money Account customers. This integration broadened the bank's potential customer base and linked the new digital operation more closely with Old Mutual's existing lending and retail-finance activities. OM Bank's development therefore represents both a new digital-bank launch and a wider reorganisation of Old Mutual's South African consumer-finance platform.

• 2026

  Old Mutual Finance integration announced

  [1]OM Banken.wikipedia.org

  Old Mutual confirmed the integration of Old Mutual Finance into OM Bank, including the transfer of Money Account customers.

• 2025

  Public launch

  [1]OM Banken.wikipedia.org

  After controlled testing and a soft launch, OM Bank opened to the public in September 2025.

• 2024

  Regulatory approval granted

  [1]OM Banken.wikipedia.org

  The South African Prudential Authority approved Old Mutual's establishment of OM Bank under section 16 of the Banks Act.

• 2023

  Core banking systems completed

  [1]OM Banken.wikipedia.org

  OM Bank's core systems were completed by the end of 2023 after a reported development investment of R1.75 billion.

• 2022

  Banking-licence application

  [1]OM Banken.wikipedia.org

  The Old Mutual group applied for a South African banking licence for the planned bank.

• 2016

  Old Mutual partners with 10x Banking

  [1]OM Banken.wikipedia.org

  Old Mutual partnered with 10x Banking to lay the technological and strategic groundwork for a new South African digital bank.

A digitally delivered South African retail bank backed by Old Mutual, positioned for the upper-income mass market and lower-income affluent segments. The brand combines app- and browser-based banking with access to Old Mutual's existing branches, customer base, distribution network and rewards ecosystem.

• Retail banking · 2025

  OM Bank transactional accounts

  Digital transactional accounts form the core of OM Bank's retail proposition. Customers access and manage them through the bank's website or mobile application rather than through a dedicated branch network. The accounts are aimed at the mass retail market, particularly upper-income mass-market and lower-income affluent customers in South Africa.

• Savings · 2025

  OM Bank savings accounts

  OM Bank offers savings accounts as part of its initial digital banking range. The product is delivered through the bank's online channels and sits alongside transactional banking, allowing the brand to address everyday banking and basic savings needs within one digital relationship.

• Consumer credit · 2025

  OM Bank credit cards

  Credit cards are among OM Bank's reported retail offerings. They extend the bank beyond deposit and payment accounts into consumer credit and are delivered as part of its app- and browser-led banking model. Specific card tiers, fees, rewards rates and underwriting criteria are not established in the supplied reference material.

• Cash access · 2025

  OM Bank cash services

  Although OM Bank does not operate its own ATMs, customers can use cash-based services offered through partner supermarket chains, including Shoprite, Boxer, Checkers and Pick n Pay. The arrangement gives a branchless bank a physical cash-access layer without requiring it to build an independent ATM estate.

• Customer rewards · 2025

  Old Mutual Rewards integration

  OM Bank is integrated with Old Mutual's broader Rewards programme. This connects the bank's accounts and customer relationship with the parent group's existing loyalty ecosystem, although the supplied material does not specify the precise banking actions required to earn or redeem rewards.

• 2026

  Set a break-even target for the 2028 financial yearStrategy

  Background

  OM Bank's digital model required substantial scale, and early reporting indicated that customer numbers and activity levels were central to its path to profitability.

  Action taken

  The bank set an objective of reaching break-even in its 2028 financial year and estimated that profitability would require 2.5 million to 3 million customers.

  Aftermath

  The target focused attention on customer acquisition, activation and retention as the main drivers of the bank's early strategy.

  Source

• 2026

  Integrate Old Mutual Finance into OM BankStrategy

  Background

  Old Mutual sought to connect its new digital bank with existing consumer-finance operations and customer relationships.

  Action taken

  Old Mutual confirmed that its Old Mutual Finance division would be integrated into OM Bank, including the transfer of Money Account customers.

  Aftermath

  The move expanded OM Bank's potential customer base and made the bank a more central platform for Old Mutual's South African retail-finance activities.

  Source

• 2025

  Launch OM Bank to the publicProduct launch

  Background

  Old Mutual completed controlled testing with employees and selected invited clients before introducing the new bank more broadly.

  Action taken

  OM Bank soft-launched in 2025 and became publicly available in September 2025.

  Aftermath

  The launch established OM Bank as a new digital-only competitor to South African institutions including TymeBank, Bank Zero and Discovery Bank.

  Source

• 2024

  Approve additional testing and marketing investmentStrategy

  Background

  After completing the core systems and receiving regulatory approval, OM Bank required further preparation before public launch.

  Action taken

  Old Mutual's board approved a further R800 million for testing and marketing during 2024.

  Aftermath

  The bank proceeded through employee and invited-client testing before its soft launch and September 2025 public launch.

  Additional testing and marketing investment. R800 million approved (2024)

  Source

• 2016

  Build a digital banking capability with 10x BankingStrategy

  Background

  Old Mutual sought to establish a modern banking platform capable of supporting a new digital-only retail bank.

  Action taken

  The group partnered with 10x Banking to develop the technological and strategic foundations of OM Bank.

  Aftermath

  The partnership preceded the licence application, systems build and eventual public launch of OM Bank.

  Source

1. 1OM Banken.wikipedia.org