South Africa’s SOLmate doubles users to 100,000 as eWallet surge drives growth

South African fintech startup SOLmate has doubled its active user base over the past year to about 100,000, driven by soaring demand for eWallet services and new partnerships that expand access to digital payments in underserved areas. The company claims its eWallet service recorded a 500% surge in transaction volume, enabling users to send money directly to mobile numbers, a functionality increasingly preferred over traditional EFTs (electronic funds transfers) in the country’s underbanked population. “eWallets have become much more popular than EFTs, mainly because they are instant and work well for people that may not have traditional bank accounts,” Jonathan Holden, SOLmate’s COO, told TechCabal. Founded in 2018, SOLmate targets the nearly 19 million underbanked South Africans and the country’s cash-reliant medium-sized businesses. Its product suite revolves around digital eWallets but has steadily expanded to include enhanced debit cards, real-time payments, and plans for lending and point-of-sale systems. It aims to position itself for growth in the country’s digital payments sector, which accounts for roughly 30% of the fintech industry.  Holden noted that SOLmate has been actively upgrading its payment infrastructure to improve services and attract more users. A major driver behind this growth has been SOLmate’s partnership with Nedbank, which introduced the WiCode feature, allowing cash withdrawals at participating retailers without a physical card. The company is upgrading its EFT and real-time clearing options. It plans to integrate new payment rails like Payshap, which will lower costs while enabling instant EFTs—a feature expected to be a strong pull for new customers. In the next three months, SOLmate will roll out enhanced debit cards, including virtual cards that will allow seamless, contactless payments through mobile devices. “Our previous cards were prepaid debit cards. But we are now launching a full-blown debit card,” Holden explained. “With the right mobile device, customers can get a virtual card, tokenise it on Google Pay, and make payments without needing a physical card.” With rising demand for virtual banking tools, SOLmate sees an opportunity to cut costs and improve security while removing logistical barriers associated with distributing physical cards, especially in remote areas. It will also roll out a point-of-sale (POS) solution tailored for small businesses. The portable device will allow them to accept payments and receive funds directly into their SOLmate wallets. “We are going to make small vendors truly independent with their own machines,” Holden said. The company also plans to venture into microlending, using internal transaction data to offer credit to long-term users who lack formal credit histories, a persistent barrier in South Africa’s traditional banking sector. “Many of our customers have been with us for a long time, but they can’t secure loans at banks or other institutions because they lack credit history,” Holden said.