Big wins for Discovery Bank

Discovery Bank recorded phenomenal customer and revenue growth in the second half of 2024.

According to Discovery’s results for the six months ended December 2024, the digital bank’s revenue increased 42% from R777 million to R1.1 billion year-on-year.

That was driven by a 32% increase in customers, which rose from 825,069 to 1.09 million, and accounts, which grew 35% from 1.93 million to 2.61 million.

Discovery Bank previously told MyBroadband it expected to hit the 1-million client milestone in August 2024, a target it had originally hoped to reach by 2026.

The bank recorded an operating profit before new business acquisition costs of R69 million, compared to a loss of R154 million in the previous interim period in 2023.

In addition, its loss from operations reduced from R339 million to R145 million, a 57% decline.

Discovery Bank also revealed that it recorded its first monthly break-even in December 2024, ahead of its plan.

Discovery said the bank remained focused on high-quality growth and customer primacy, given challenging macro-economic conditions.

Other key performance metrics also showed strong growth.

“Payment volumes increased 47% and spend values increased 42% compared to the prior period,” the bank said.

“Deposits increased by 27% and advances by 37%, driven mainly by the launch of home loans, which ended the period at R802 million.”

“Non-interest revenue continued to grow steadily, increasing 49%, driven by the growth in clients as well as fee income per client, through increased product take-up and engagement levels.”

“Net interest income grew by 34%, resultant from an increase in deposits and lower funding costs.”

Discovery Bank became one of South Africa’s first branch-less banks when it launched to the public in mid-2019.

Similar to Discovery’s other divisions, like Discovery Vitality, Discovery Health, and Discovery Insure, the bank rewards customers for what it deems to be positive behaviour.

This requires a complex network of more than 120 distinct and connected systems integrated with Discovery’s ecosystem, systems and tech infrastructure, and rewards programme.

The table below summarises Discovery Bank’s key financial and operational results for the period from July 2024 to December 2024.