Bard Santner Inc has secured a deposit-taking microfinance banking licence from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), paving the way for the financial services group to develop a digital banking platform targeting Zimbabweans and other Africans living and working abroad.
The approval marks a significant step in the group’s plans to establish a diaspora-focused banking and investment institution designed to connect individuals, businesses and investment opportunities across borders.
Bard Santner, which operates from Harare, Johannesburg and New York, intends to build a financial platform that combines remittances, savings, lending and investment services, with a particular focus on the needs of customers who earn, live and invest in different countries.
In a public notice, the RBZ confirmed the registration of Bard Santner Microfinance Bank Limited under the Microfinance Act (Chapter 24:30), read together with section 5 of the Microfinance (General) Regulations, 2025 (Statutory Instrument 85 of 2025).
“Notice is hereby given … of the registration of Bard Santner Microfinance Bank Limited as a deposit-taking microfinance institution with effect from 1 October 2026,” the central bank said.
Bard Santner Executive Director Tatenda Hungwe
The licence authorises the institution to undertake 15 categories of financial activities, including accepting savings deposits, extending consumer and mortgage credit, providing bank guarantees, facilitating import and export transactions, offering structured finance and conducting money transfers.
Other permitted activities include foreign currency transactions, subject to exchange control regulations, issuing payment instruments, money broking, financial leasing, portfolio management and credit reference services.
The new banking venture will build on the group’s existing involvement in the remittance market through its subsidiary, TX Money Transfer, which provides money transfer services in Zimbabwe.
Diaspora remittances represent a substantial opportunity for the proposed institution. Zimbabwe received US$2.45 billion in diaspora remittances in 2025, a 14% increase from the previous year, accounting for approximately 16.1% of the country’s total foreign currency earnings.
According to figures cited by the group, formal remittance inflows reached US$1.62 billion in the first seven months of 2026, representing a 24% increase compared with the corresponding period in 2025.
Bard Santner Bank Managing Director Ngonidzashe Chikowore said the institution was being established to address the financial needs of people whose lives and economic activities span multiple countries.
“This is not the launch of just another start-up bank,” Chikowore said.
“Zimbabwe and Africa do not need another bank for the sake of a bank. What our people need — at home and abroad — is an institution, no matter how small to start with, that meets them where they live, earn, transact and aspire.”
He said the bank’s strategy would prioritise agility, technology and customer convenience rather than competing with established financial institutions on size alone.
The institution plans to develop a digital-first operating model that enables customers to access financial services without relying on traditional branch networks.
Its proposed services are expected to include multi-currency accounts, remittance-linked investment options, diaspora savings products and trade finance solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises operating across African markets.
Chikowore said the ambition was to make cross-border transactions and investments simpler for individuals and businesses.
“A nurse in Manchester, UK, or doctor in Melbourne, Australia, a restaurant worker in Johannesburg, South Africa, should be able to send money home or fund a business in Harare or Bulawayo as easily as he or she pays an electricity bill electronically, orders an Uber or pizza digitally,” he said.
“A businessman in Harare, Johannesburg, Nairobi or Cairo should be able to invest in Lagos without losing a week to settlement delays. That is the concept and standard we are bringing.”
The group said its model would be built around digital financial services rather than the traditional approach of established banks adding online platforms to existing branch-based operations.
It also intends to position remittances as more than a source of household income, creating opportunities for diaspora funds to support savings, business investment and economic development in Zimbabwe and other African countries.
Bard Santner Group chief executive Senziwani Sikhosana described the licence as an important milestone in the group’s ambition to build a financial institution serving customers across national borders.
“Securing this deposit-taking microfinance bank licence is a transformative moment for millions of Zimbabweans and other global citizens who call more than one country home,” Sikhosana said.
“We will not just be moving money; we are bridging people and economies. This licence allows us to build a trusted foundation where the diaspora can save, invest, and grow their wealth securely, directly contributing to individual, organisational and national economic development of their home countries in a structured and sustainable way.”
The institution said its operational rollout would be phased, with the development of its services guided by regulatory requirements and international best practice.
As a licensed deposit-taking microfinance institution, Bard Santner Microfinance Bank will operate within Zimbabwe’s financial regulatory framework and remain subject to applicable capital, governance and supervisory requirements.
The group has also indicated ambitions to expand its regulatory status over time, including pursuing a merchant or commercial banking licence as its operations develop.
Chikowore said the licence brought both opportunity and responsibility, stressing that long-term success would depend on sound governance, adequate capital and public confidence.
“The licence is not merely a vote of confidence in Bard Santner, but also a responsibility,” he said. “Durable institutions are not built on speed alone. They are built on capital, corporate governance and trust.”
The bank’s planned entry comes as financial technology continues to reshape banking across Africa, with digital-first institutions seeking to improve access, reduce transaction costs and serve customers whose financial needs increasingly extend beyond their home countries.
For Bard Santner, the challenge will be to translate its diaspora banking ambitions into reliable, accessible and competitively priced services while building the trust required to attract deposits and sustain a regulated financial institution.
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