OM Bank’s Big Bet: Personalised, scalable banking for South Africa’s mass market
In this episode, “OM Bank’s Big Bet: Personalised, scalable banking for South Africa’s mass market”, of Talking Success, The Best Fintech Podcast, Darren Franks sat down with Pauline Molloyi – Chief Product and Information Officer at OM Bank, to unpack what it looks like behind the scenes of their journey. The conversation ranged from technology and product strategy to customer behaviour and the evolving South African banking landscape – and it offered a rare inside look at how a legacy institution is thinking like a startup.
When Old Mutual announced it would be launching OM Bank, the industry took notice. A century-old financial giant building a digital bank from the ground up? That’s no small task.
A veteran of digital banking (who still calls herself a learner)
Pauline’s career tells the story of South Africa’s digital banking evolution. Originally from the Netherlands, she began working in community banking back when large parts of the market were still unbanked. That experience sparked a passion for financial inclusion and innovation that’s defined her career ever since.
Years later, she joined Discovery Bank when it was still just a PowerPoint deck and a spreadsheet – “a real greenfield,” she laughs. She helped shape its early product and customer strategies before moving to Old Mutual to do it all again – this time, with a different customer base and new technology.
For Pauline, joining OM Bank wasn’t just about starting another digital bank. It was about rethinking what banking could look like in today’s South Africa – how to serve a broader audience with smarter technology, without losing the human touch.
Building a bank, partner by partner
At the heart of OM Bank’s strategy is its technology model. Rather than using a single, traditional core system, the bank is building on a cloud-native architecture supported by an ecosystem of specialist partners.
That modular setup allows OM Bank to adapt quickly, scale easily, and bring together best-in-class solutions across everything from data to payments. It’s also what enables a more personalised customer experience – one that can respond to real-time data and changing behaviours.
“Discovery still had some on-prem solutions,” Pauline explains in the podcast. “At OM Bank, everything’s cloud-native. That brings new possibilities – especially when it comes to real-time data and personalisation.”
This approach mirrors the philosophy behind many modern fintechs: build lean, connect fast, and use data wisely. For more on this kind of design, see Cloud Native Computing Foundation’s definition of cloud-native.
Rethinking segmentation: it’s about money mindset, not income
One of the most interesting parts of the discussion was around how OM Bank views its customers.
Traditional banks tend to classify people by income: if you earn between R3,000 and R8,000, you fall into one bracket; earn above that, you’re in another. Pauline believes that kind of thinking is outdated.
OM Bank instead segments customers based on their relationship with money – how comfortable they are managing it, how confident they feel making financial decisions, and how they prefer to communicate.
That means two people with the same income could have completely different needs. One might want charts and graphs. The other might prefer a friendly, conversational explanation.
It’s a more human approach that relies heavily on behavioural data and thoughtful design. Instead of overwhelming users with information, OM Bank focuses on micro-interactions – small, timely prompts that help customers make better decisions in real time.
Products that meet people where they are
Every new bank faces the same question: where do you start?
For OM Bank, the foundation was clear – payments and transacting. “Without that, nothing else works,” Pauline says. Once that base is in place, savings, credit cards, and personal loans follow.
What’s notable is how OM Bank approaches these familiar products differently. For example, when customers set a savings goal, they can attach a photo to it – maybe a picture of a car, a graduation, or a family holiday. It’s a simple feature, but one that tells the bank a lot about a person’s values and financial motivations.
And while credit often carries a negative perception, Pauline points out that it plays a vital role in long-term financial stability – especially when used for productive goals like education or home improvement.
OM Bank’s job, she says, is to make those tools accessible, responsible, and relevant.
Competing in a multi-banked world
It’s never been easier to open a bank account. Five years ago, you had to bring your ID, proof of address, and plenty of patience to a branch. Today, it takes minutes on your phone.
That shift has created a new reality: most people are multi-banked. They might have one account for their salary, another for payments, and a third for savings.
Pauline sees this as an opportunity, not a threat. “Customers are no longer locked into one bank,” she says. “That means we have to earn their engagement every single day.”
OM Bank’s strategy is to stay relevant in those daily decisions – through competitive pricing, personalised nudges, and reward structures that keep customers coming back. If one bank charges R6 for a real-time payment and another charges 50 cents, people will notice. But if you combine fair pricing with great experience and communication, you can win loyalty over time.
The price question: competing without going to zero
South African consumers are famously price-sensitive, especially when it comes to banking fees. Many digital players have responded with “zero-fee” models, but OM Bank is taking a more balanced route.
The bank’s pricing is competitive but not free, with certain free transactions (like PayShap payments under R3,000) built in. The key, Pauline explains, is value: customers don’t just want cheap – they want confidence, simplicity, and clarity.
She puts it plainly: “It has to be super easy for people to make payments and know they’ve gone through. That’s how you win.”
For context, PayShap is South Africa’s new instant payments system. It’s changed digital payment behaviour but hasn’t yet replaced cash at the scale the industry hoped. Many consumers still don’t know what it is. Pauline believes that’s where opportunity lies – not just in offering PayShap, but in making it intuitive enough that people teach each other how to use it.
To explore PayShap’s broader mission, visit BankservAfrica’s overview.
Data that helps, not lectures
Data is often called the new oil, but for OM Bank, it’s more like a mirror. The goal isn’t to mine it – it’s to reflect something useful back to customers.
Rather than overwhelming users with charts or scolding them for overspending, OM Bank aims to deliver insightful, conversational feedback that helps people make small, positive choices.
“Banks love to tell customers when they’ve exceeded their budget,” Pauline notes. “But what if we framed it differently – like, here’s what changed this week, and here’s what you can do next?”
It’s a subtle but powerful shift in tone that makes customers feel supported, not judged.
For those interested in best practices on this approach, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has great resources on fair value and customer understanding – principles that translate well to emerging markets.
Experience is everything
Perhaps the most memorable part of the conversation came near the end, when Darren and Pauline discussed payments.
Consumers, Pauline says, don’t care about rails, interchange, or settlement processes. They care about whether it works. The best fintechs have succeeded not because their technology is fancy, but because their experience is seamless.
As Darren put it, “When you tap your card, you don’t need to understand how the money moves – you just need to know it works.” Pauline agrees: “Exactly. The experience is the product.”
It’s a simple truth that sums up OM Bank’s philosophy: make it easy, make it reliable, and make it human.
And if Pauline Molloyi’s story is anything to go by, the next era of South African banking won’t be defined by who’s the biggest – but by who understands their customers best.
FAQ's
OM Bank is a new digital bank in South Africa launched by Old Mutual. It has obtained its banking licence and aims to provide a mobile-first transaction account, savings and credit products
You’ll need to download the OM Bank app (Android listed in the Play Store) and follow the sign-up flow. The app is currently in an “invitation only” phase while being rolled out.
The bank offers mobile banking: check your balance, transfer money, pay bills, get instant transaction updates. It emphasizes a digital-only banking experience, with tools to track spending and set budgets.
OM Bank is being rolled out to existing “Money Account” clients of Old Mutual. These clients are being encouraged to switch to OM Bank. The Money Account will continue until end of 2026, after which transactions will be disabled (funds remain safe).
One of OM Bank’s appeals is no “hidden” fees and a focus on affordability, simplicity, and a digital-first experience.