Technology Investment Will Determine How Far Financial Services Growth Reaches
A person making a digital payment with a credit card at a point-of-sale terminal in Africa, highlighting financial inclusion efforts.
Financial and business services remain among the sectors keeping South Africa’s economy growing, and how the sector invests in technology will shape how widely those gains spread, according to Rob van Dale, Partner at Kearney, responding to the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) tabled on 21 October 2026.
In the MTBPS, National Treasury reports that finance, real estate and business services grew by 2.5% in the first half of 2026, supported by sustained demand for advisory, technology and administrative services. Treasury expects easing financial conditions and improving business confidence to sustain growth in the sector.
Treasury also notes that growth in personal income tax collections was driven largely by salary increases in the finance and public sectors, despite lower employment. Unemployment rose to 33.6% in the second quarter.
“South Africa’s financial sector is one of the economy’s stronger performers, and sustained investment in technology has helped enable that performance. The next phase depends on how banks and insurers apply AI across their operations, from risk and fraud management to customer service, and whether that investment translates into lending and products that reach more businesses and households,” says Jo-Ann Pohl, Associate Director at Kearney.
Treasury notes that strong investment in AI has offset much of the drag on global growth from higher energy and food prices. It also lists a reassessment of AI investment as a risk to South Africa’s outlook.
“The sector’s gains need to reach the rest of the economy. When financial institutions use AI to assess risk more accurately and serve customers at lower cost, credit and financial services can become available to previously underserved small businesses and households, supporting enterprise growth and job creation. Moreover, other sectors, including South Africa’s public sector, have considerable opportunities to become more efficient and effective, while improving reach and customer or citizen satisfaction,” says Rob van Dale, Partner at Kearney.
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