Bank Zero, the mobile only app-based bank backed by former FNB CEO Michael Jordaan, has partnered with fintech player iKhokha to provide business customers with a point-of-sale device that comes with no monthly rental fees.
The iKhokha card machines will seamlessly integrate with Bank Zero’s zero-fee bank accounts for private companies, close corporations and sole proprietors with clients only liable for the upfront cost of the device, which ranges from R399 for the most basic offering to R1,499 for the flagship version. Jordaan told Business Day the partnership will help Bank Zero reach its goal of 100,000 customers in the next 24 months.
“We just want to get to 100,000 customers [and] we think this partnership will help us get there,” Jordaan said in an interview. “At the moment we are laser focused on getting you the best possible transactional banking solution.”
The partnership forms part of Bank Zero’s embrace of what Jordaan calls “ecosystem thinking”, a strategy in which it aims to partner with suitable companies to provide goods and services for its clients rather than developing them on its own. This differs from the focus of traditional banks who are largely focused on becoming platforms, which means providing a full suite of solutions that Jordaan says effectively “force customers to get products from that one bank”.
Through the partnership with iKhokha clients can sign up for their card machine through a simple app or web-based process that does not require any additional credit checks or further Fica documentation. The devices are purchased outright, which means there are no monthly rental fees, and iKhokha will deliver them directly to the business at zero cost.
“We aim to make doing business easier for businesses, by simplifying money movements and broadening access to financial services for all SA entrepreneurs,” said Matt Putman, CEO at iKhokha. “We also want every iKhokha interaction to be a frictionless experience, and the partnership with like-minded Bank Zero enables us to extend that seamless experience to all of their business customers.”
Jordaan said the partnership can help anyone with a business that requires a point-of-sale solution, whether it be a young entrepreneur who is still at school or a registered company.
“We can even do these devices for kids once the parents have signed off on it. So if your child has a business that requires a card-accepting device this Bank Zero-iKhokha partnership can cater for them,” said Jordaan. “Some of the other banks say they cater to businesses but they actually only cater to sole proprietors. They do not cater for proprietary limiteds, which is complex to do because of all the mandates that have to be signed. It’s much more complex to do all those things but we can do it.”
Bank Zero’s partnership with iKhokha comes just three weeks after Jordaan told Business Day Bank Zero was specifically setting its sights on attracting more business banking clients by offering them lower transactional fees. At the time he said SA banking customers were “fee-weary” as traditional lenders were overcharging them for transactional financial services by amounts that likely ran into “billions and billions” of rand each year.
“Business banking has remained stuck in a quagmire of high fees, poor service delivery and no real choice,” said Jordaan, who helped co-found Bank Zero and now acts as its chair. “However, the landscape is rapidly changing thanks to innovative partnerships.”
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