Weaver Fintech has delivered a resilient first-half performance in 2026, demonstrating the power of its digital-first fintech ecosystem even as South African consumers grapple with mounting financial pressures.
While group headline earnings per share (HEPS) declined 10% to 256.5 cents, the company’s Fintech division continues its aggressive growth trajectory, acquiring over 130,000 new customers monthly and driving 30% revenue growth in the segment. HEPS is South Africa’s main profit main gauge.
The contrasting performance highlights the transformation underway at Weaver as it evolves from a lending-led business into a comprehensive digital financial services ecosystem spanning payments, lending, insurance and merchant services.
Consumer Headwinds Impact Bottom Line
The group faced significant macroeconomic challenges during the period, with higher fuel prices, rising inflationary pressures and increased interest rates weighing on consumer spending power. These factors contributed to a muted 2% trading profit growth despite group revenue increasing 10%.
Profit before tax declined 9%, while trading expenses fell 5%, improving the cost-to-revenue ratio to 27% from 31% in H1 2025.
The board elected not to declare an interim dividend to preserve capital while credit normalises.
Fintech Division: The Growth Engine
Weaver’s Fintech division continues to be the standout performer, contributing 94% of segmental trading profit before group costs. Key highlights include:
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Revenue growth: 30% increase, driven by payments revenue surging 88% and fee income climbing 43%
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Customer acquisition: 130,000+ new customers per month, with transacting customers growing 33% to approximately 1.5 million
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Return on equity: Strong 24.4% ROE, well ahead of the group average
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Efficient acquisition: Customer acquisition cost remains highly competitive at R60 per new customer
“These metrics demonstrate that our ecosystem strategy continues to gain traction, with growth increasingly being driven by customer acquisition, engagement and the adoption of higher-quality, fee-generating products,” the company stated.
Technology Investment Powers Scale
Weaver is investing aggressively in its technological capabilities, with engineering, data and artificial intelligence (AI) investment increasing 54% to R156 million. This investment is already delivering measurable efficiency gains:
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Unit cost of customer service interactions fell 25% to R4.37
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Platform scaling without proportionate cost increases
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Enhanced data-driven credit decision-making and collections
Buy Now, Pay Later Leadership
PayJustNow, Weaver’s BNPL offering, has cemented its position as South Africa’s number one BNPL provider.
The platform ranks fourth in the Finance category on the Apple App Store and has surpassed one million downloads on Google Play.
BNPL performance metrics are particularly strong:
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93% customer retention rate with 5.1 transactions per year
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Lending retention at 86% with 6.6 annual transactions
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PayStretch™ (Pay-in-12) volumes from first-time purchasers were 2.5 times higher
Ecosystem Flywheel Gaining Momentum
The company’s ecosystem strategy is demonstrating powerful compounding effects:
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Customers holding two or more products increased 29% to 328,000
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More than 835,000 first-time customers entered the ecosystem during the half
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Lending cross-sell volumes grew 64% over six months
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Revenue per customer rises from R678 for a single product to R18,431 at seven products
Insurance: Capital-Light Growth Driver
Weaver’s insurance division delivered solid performance with significant runway for expansion:
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Customers increased 28% to 189,000
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Gross written premium up 18% to R122 million
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53% of new policies acquired digitally, up from 49%
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New insurance customers from the ecosystem more than doubled (up 115%)
Strong Cash Generation Provides Strategic Flexibility
Cash generation emerged as a standout feature of the period:
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Fintech collections increased 43% year-on-year to R9.4 billion
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Collections exceeded disbursements by R270 million
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Collections represent 224% of gross book on rolling 12-month basis (up from 198%)
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BNPL book averages 42 days; lending books average 19-21 months
Balance Sheet Strength Supports Growth
The company maintains a healthy balance sheet to fund continued expansion:
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Equity increased 1.4% to R4.1 billion
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Group trade and loan gross receivables increased 17% to R9.6 billion
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Receivables growth of R1.4 billion funded with only R1.0 billion additional net debt
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Strong cash position of R240 million with R860 million available facilities
Outlook: Digital-First Strategy Positioned for Long-Term Growth
Despite near-term earnings pressure, Weaver’s fundamental transformation into a fintech ecosystem provider positions it for sustainable long-term growth.
With 5.1 million customers (up 17% year-on-year), of which 70% are women and 65% are Millennials or Gen Z, the company has tapped into a digitally-savvy consumer base historically underserved by traditional banking.
The continued investment in technology, data and AI capabilities, combined with the powerful ecosystem flywheel of customer acquisition, engagement and cross-selling, provides a solid foundation for future earnings growth as consumer conditions normalise.
