FNB Acquires Fintech Company Selpal To Boost The Township Economy
FNB Acquires Fintech Company Selpal To Boost The Township Economy. First National Bank (FNB) has acquired 100% of Selpal – a financial technology solutions company that operates specifically in townships and rural sectors of the economy. Gordon Little, FNB Business Chief Executive Officer told Business Tech that, “This will further enable us to make better informed credit and product decisions, making it easier to facilitate lending through the ability to measure performance, track and gather information on the business’ activity over a reasonable time period,” said Little. “As our knowledge and understanding of this market matures, we will be able to provide more value to these valuable small businesses in future.”
Selpal is an ecosystem that connects Sellers to Customers and to Suppliers. Selpal is the best way to shop and benefits everybody. Selpal offers customers and sellers more products – airtime, data, electricity, DStv, LottoStar and easy money when they buy the groceries they always buy. Founded 2013, the Gauteng-based Selpal integrates the entire supply chain – from manufacturer all the way down to the end customer who is shopping with an informal retailer in a township. For the store trader, informal retailers running spazas, tuckshops, taverns, bottle stores and shebeens, Selpal provides a smart PoS device free of charge.
“If community-based businesses can see the value in what we are offering, we are confident that they will make use of our products and services, and in-turn, help increase the level of financial inclusion. For example, FNB recognises that the spaza shop, which is arguably the oldest form of small merchant business in South African townships, is an integral part of the community economy and our objective is to incentivise these entrepreneurs that run these types of businesses to adopt more formal financial services.” Little added.
“As an example, this could include objectives such as increasing the level card/QR payment acceptance at spaza stores for consumers to pay at, which ultimately benefits both businesses and consumers.” Little explained further.
FNB is one of the three major divisions of the First Rand Group, and the others being Rand Merchant Bank and Wesbank. First National Bank maintains banking subsidiaries which it owns wholly or in part, in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, India, Lesotho and Guernsey.
