The Shoprite Group has taken a deliberate step towards extending its financial services ecosystem into South Africa’s informal economy through the acquisition of a majority stake in R&A Cellular, subject to regulatory approval.
The investment reflects the Group’s intent to meet customers where they already live, shop and transact by expanding access to essential financial and digital services through trusted community‑based retailers, including spaza shops and other informal merchants that play a central role in daily commerce across townships and peri‑urban areas.
R&A Cellular provides a widely used point‑of‑sale platform that enables informal retailers to offer prepaid airtime and electricity, gaming and entertainment products, as well as card‑based payment acceptance. These high‑frequency, everyday transactions increasingly position informal retailers as convenient access points for essential services within their communities.
“This partnership marks a transformational moment for R&A Cellular. By aligning with the Shoprite Group, we are combining deep retail scale with our technology and prepaid expertise to accelerate financial inclusion and unlock greater value for traders and communities across South Africa. Together, we are building a more accessible, digitally enabled retail ecosystem.”
– Rui Campos, Founder and CEO of R&A Cellular
The Shoprite Group is extending its existing Money Market offering into the adjacent informal retail market through its partnership with R&A.
Through its Money Market offering, the Shoprite Group has built significant capability in delivering value‑added and financial services across its store network and digital channels. Extending this capability beyond formal retail environments into community‑based trading hubs represents a natural evolution of the Group’s financial inclusion strategy.
“R&A Cellular has built a sound business with a strong management team and a platform that is well regarded in the market. By combining our scale in everyday financial services with R&A Cellular’s established presence in the informal retail space, we are creating a practical way to expand access to essential services, lower barriers to participation and support the communities that rely on informal retailers every day.”
– Jean Olivier, General Manager for Financial Services at the Shoprite Group
For customers, the integration of the Group’s financial and value‑added services into the R&A Cellular ecosystem will make it possible to complete more daily transactions closer to home, reducing the cost, time and inconvenience of travelling to shopping centres or banking outlets.
For informal retailers, the platform offers access to a broader, competitive range of services that can increase customer visits, improve cash‑flow management and reduce reliance on cash, while strengthening their role as essential service providers within their communities.
The acquisition also builds on an existing relationship, with R&A Cellular already enabling the sale of Shoprite vouchers through its point‑of‑sale devices.