Old Mutual is building its own bank. Sanlam has chosen to partner with an established digital bank. Momentum is closing its Momentum Money offering. Three decisions in 2026, each reflecting a different view of what transactional banking can contribute to an insurance business (Business Day, 2026a; Business Explainer, 2026; Business Day, 2026c).
The strategic attraction is understandable. Banking can deepen customer relationships, broaden distribution and create additional revenue opportunities. Whether those benefits justify the capital, operational complexity and management attention is a different question.
Old Mutual: Build
Old Mutual has committed to establishing a bank under its own control. OM Bank’s customer base increased from 284,000 at the end of December 2025 to 473,000 in the first quarter of 2026 and 742,000 by June. Around half of those customers reportedly came from outside Old Mutual’s existing insurance base (Business Day, 2026a; Business Day, 2026b).
The group is targeting 2.5 million to 2.8 million customers and deposits of up to R10 billion by its 2028 financial year. It has also set out plans to develop lending operations (Daily Investor, 2026a; Business Day, 2026b).
Owning the bank gives Old Mutual control of its product proposition, customer relationship and balance sheet. It can decide how banking fits alongside insurance and investment products without relying on a third-party banking partner. That control is expensive. Capital, technology, compliance and operational infrastructure must be funded before the economics of the model are fully proven.
Customer acquisition is an encouraging early measure, but it is not the same as commercial success. The more useful indicators will be active account usage, deposit balances, funding costs, lending performance and ultimately returns on the capital committed.
Sanlam: Partner
Sanlam has taken a less capital-intensive route, partnering with GoTyme Bank to distribute transactional banking products through its own channels. GoTyme provides the regulated banking infrastructure, while Sanlam brings an established customer base and distribution network. The arrangement also includes a proposed transfer of 50% of Sanlam Personal Loans’ existing loan book to GoTyme (Business Explainer, 2026; Riotimes Online, 2026).
The reported November 2026 soft launch was intended to reach staff, intermediaries and selected clients, with a wider rollout planned for the first quarter of 2027 (Riotimes Online, 2026).
The appeal is speed and lower direct capital commitment. Sanlam can offer banking services without having to build a bank itself. For GoTyme, the partnership creates access to distribution that would be costly and time-consuming to replicate independently.
There are trade-offs. Sanlam shares the economics and depends on its partner for the banking platform. Its existing insurance customers also have banking relationships already. Access to a large client base does not guarantee that those clients will move their primary banking activity or generate meaningful additional revenue.
The partnership will need to demonstrate more than account openings. The test is whether it can attract active customers and create value across Sanlam’s broader financial services offering.
Momentum: Exit
Momentum is moving in the opposite direction, with reports that it will close Momentum Money by the end of its financial year (Business Day, 2026c).
That decision should not be read as a wholesale rejection of bancassurance. It is a decision about a particular offering, and the available reporting does not establish that Momentum has ruled out all future banking partnerships.
It nevertheless raises an important capital allocation question. Even where a product fits the wider strategy, it must justify the investment and management resources required to maintain it. A broader customer proposition is not necessarily a more profitable one.
What the Different Approaches Tell Us
The three models differ in ownership, capital intensity and operational responsibility. Old Mutual is paying for control. Sanlam is trading some control for speed and access to an existing banking platform. Momentum has chosen not to continue with its current proposition.
For established banks, Sanlam’s arrangement may be the more interesting competitive development. A banking platform that can support distribution through another company’s customer network potentially lowers the practical barriers to offering banking products. Insurers, retailers and other businesses would not necessarily need to establish their own licensed bank to compete for parts of the customer relationship.
That possibility does not remove the underlying economics. Banking remains a scale business, and customers with dormant or lightly used accounts may add little value. Distribution can lower acquisition costs, but it does not automatically produce deposits, transactions or profitable lending.
What to Watch
Old Mutual will need to show that rapid customer growth translates into sustained usage and attractive returns as its lending business develops. Sanlam will need to demonstrate that its partnership generates active banking relationships and incremental commercial value. Momentum’s decision is a reminder that withdrawing from a proposition can be a rational outcome when the expected return no longer warrants the commitment.
There is no basis yet to declare one model the winner. These are different decisions about where to commit capital, which capabilities to own and what role banking should play within an insurance group. The results will be measured in earnings and returns, not simply in the number of banking accounts opened.
References
- Business Day (2026a). Old Mutual’s banking offering gains traction. https://www.businessday.co.za/companies/company-strategy/2026-06-08-old-mutuals-banking-offering-gains-traction/
- Business Day (2026b). Old Mutual’s bank nears 1-million customer milestone. https://www.businessday.co.za/companies/2026-09-09-old-mutuals-bank-nears-1-million-customer-milestone/
- Business Day (2026c). Momentum Money closure. Source cited in the supplied article without a corresponding URL or full bibliographic entry; verify before publication.
- Business Explainer (2026). Sanlam Bets on GoTyme to Break into Transactional Banking. https://businessexplainer.co.za/deals/2026/09/10/sanlam-bets-on-gotyme-to-break-into-transactional-banking/
- Daily Investor (2026a). South Africa’s new bank is here. https://dailyinvestor.com/banking/99582/south-africas-new-bank-is-here/
- Riotimes Online (2026). Sanlam banking move with GoTyme set for November 2026. https://www.riotimesonline.com/sanlam-banking-gotyme-south-africa-2026/
