Africa’s digital market is shifting fast. Sanlam and TymeBank’s newly approved joint venture is turning heads by combining unsecured personal loans with embedded credit‑life insurance, reaching over nine million digital banking customers.
Source: Supplied. TransBridj chief executive officer, Michael Lenz.
The move promises smarter, safer lending and a step‑change in digital financial empowerment.
At the same time, newcomers like PayInc are shaking up the scene with inclusive, secure payment solutions for MSMEs and everyday consumers.
The market itself is also seeing significant growth – Mastercard has predicted that the African digital payments economy is set to reach $1.5tn by 2030.
Locally, the proptech industry is also on an impressive trajectory, says the South African PropTech Market Research Report.
The report found that more than 90% of South Africans are using digital methods to find the perfect home, and that the market was forecast to add more than R400m by 2029.
The data shows that proptech is increasingly becoming a mainstream solution with organisations operating in property transactions and settlement funding relying on it as a business enabler. As the technology evolves, so does its ability to simplify transactions and processes, and help the sector build deeper trust with customers.
AI transforms transactions
And AI is playing a significant role in bringing both sides together. The technology gives the technology industry the ability to assess and analyse key trends such as tenant-retention trends or regional trends, while also enabling the use of virtual agents and creating personalised experiences.
As for fintech, well, formations that include digital payments and P2P lending are proving helpful in reducing default risk and increasing financial stability for South African banks. According to research by the South African Reserve Bank, this underscores the importance of technology-driven risk mitigation and strategic co-operation.
Right now, fintech innovations in payments, open banking, embedded finance and digital verification are converging with proptech platforms that handle listings, management, valuations and rental operations.
Together, these changes are reimagining how value flows through the real-estate ecosystem. Property transactions are no longer just legal processes with financial outcomes. They’ve become multi-stakeholder, data-enabled events that rely on the secure movement of digital information and funds.
Innovation meets reality
However, as these tools evolve, the real test lies in how well they integrate with the realities of South Africa’s transaction ecosystem. While it’s true that AI can now personalise a home search or optimise a rental yield forecast, the more urgent challenge is in solving for the moments that hold transactions back. This is particularly relevant when timing gaps or administrative bottlenecks create unnecessary risk or delays.
This is where platforms like TransBridj have found their footing. The goal is to meet attorneys, sellers and agents where they are, and give them access to liquidity without introducing more complexity. It’s in solutions like these where real innovation lies – technology that’s compliant and procedurally aligned.
AI-driven insight plays a practical role as well. At TransBridj, market signals, transactional data and regulatory developments are continuously scanned through embedded intelligence with the goal of providing users with insights into opportunities and helping them with compliance and clarity.
For all the talk about disruption, the strongest models emerging are those that are helping companies build stability. They are bringing together the best of fintech and proptech but tailoring their capabilities to the actual market in South Africa.
In that sense, the real opportunity comes down to collaborative relationships and applying the technology to where it matters most which is usually inside the transaction, at the point of friction, the pressure, and the people involved.
Looking back at a year of somewhat seismic shifts in fintech and proptech, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens in 2026 and how AI will see both sectors change gears, again.
