This ‘super bank’ could change how South Africans bank

Johannesburg – Discovery is set to launch the next phase of its banking strategy in October, transforming Discovery Bank into what it calls a “super bank” that will bring the group’s banking, insurance, health, investment and rewards services together on a single digital platform.

According to Daily Investor, Discovery CEO Adrian Gore announced the October rollout during the group’s annual results presentation on Thursday, saying the banking app would become the primary interface for customers.

The move follows a major turnaround for Discovery Bank, which recorded its first full-year profit of R370 million for the year ended June 2026, compared with a R68 million loss previously.

Its customer base grew 26% to 1.57 million, while revenue increased 31% to R3.1 billion.

TechCentral reported that Gore described the super bank as “not a transactional instrument, but an integrative control layer for a customer’s entire economic life.” The platform will combine access to Discovery’s financial and health-related services with lifestyle offerings, payments, rewards and other features.

Significant new phase

Discovery Bank CEO Hylton Kallner previously explained the concept to as “a combination of a super app by offering more than just banking, but also is a platform for managing all of your financial services.”

The strategy is also designed to increase cross-selling across Discovery’s businesses. About 70% of new Discovery Bank customers are not existing Discovery customers, creating a large potential market for the group’s medical aid, insurance and investment products.

Gore said the opportunity was significant because about 75% of existing Discovery customers are not yet banking with Discovery.

Discovery expects the super-bank strategy to contribute to group profit growth of between 15% and 20% a year over the next three years, as it seeks to deepen the relationship between its banking, health, insurance and investment businesses, Moneyweb reported.

Discovery has already been moving towards the model, with its banking app incorporating access to products such as motor insurance, medical aid and Vitality benefits. The company says the platform is designed to make these services more seamless while using data, artificial intelligence and its shared-value rewards model to increase customer engagement.

The October launch marks a significant new phase for Discovery Bank, which was launched in 2019 and has spent years building a digital-only banking model aimed at challenging established players in South Africa’s highly competitive financial services market.