WesBank upgrades wholesale platform with SBS

WesBank has signed a new five-year agreement with SBS, extending a long-standing partnership and upgrading its wholesale operations platform across Southern Africa.

Under the agreement, WesBank will transition from its existing system to the latest version of SBS’s SFP Wholesale, delivered as a cloud-native software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution. The institution has been an SBS client since 2012 and supports a network of more than 1,000 dealers across the region.

The upgrade forms part of WesBank’s broader cloud transformation and expansion strategy. By adopting a SaaS-based platform, the lender aims to enhance scalability, operational resilience, and its ability to respond to evolving regulatory and market requirements. The move also provides access to additional capabilities within SBS’s asset finance ecosystem, including tools that leverage AI-driven insights to support decision-making, risk management, and performance optimisation.

“The renewed partnership with SBS marks an important step in our ongoing transformation journey. By upgrading to a modern, cloud-native platform, we are strengthening our ability to scale, innovate, and deliver enhanced value to our dealer network across Southern Africa. The flexibility and intelligence enabled by this solution will support better decision-making, improved risk management, and a more responsive service offering for our clients,” said Rob Gwerengwe, CEO of WesBank.

“WesBank has been a cornerstone of our presence in Africa, and this renewed agreement is a testament to the strength of that relationship. Delivering SFP Wholesale as a cloud-native SaaS solution reflects our commitment to providing institutions like WesBank with the scalability and innovation they need to lead in an increasingly competitive market. We are proud to support their transformation journey and their ambition to set new standards in asset finance across Southern Africa,” said James Powell, Global Head of Lending at SBS.

The development reflects a wider trend in the asset finance and lending sector, where institutions are accelerating the shift from legacy systems to cloud-native architectures. SaaS deployment models are increasingly viewed as critical to enabling faster product innovation, real-time data utilisation, and cost-efficient scaling—particularly in markets characterised by rapid regulatory change and competitive pressure.

For WesBank, the platform upgrade is expected to support its ambition to expand its footprint and enhance service delivery across Southern Africa, while positioning the lender to compete more effectively in a digitising asset finance landscape.