Bank Zero gives Rappa group of companies refuge after Capitec and Bidvest ditch them

Digital bank says it takes due diligence very seriously

- By Bongani Mdakane

As screws tighten on the leading gold processing and refining firm, Rappa Holdings, with the South African Revenue Service (Sars) demanding sight of its subsidiaries' financial statements, the organisation has found itself in a sticky situation with two local banks ditching it.

Capitec Bank and Bidvest Bank cut off Rappa Holdings and Rappa Resources as clients due to non-compliance and Sars circling.

But Bank Zero, a digital bank owned by the former CEO of the First National Bank, Michael Jordaan, has brought a ray of hope, offering the holding company and its subsidiaries a new home.

The move by Bank Zero to provide banking facilities for Rappa entities has also raised concerns about the bank's way of doing business with a company that had two well-known banks terminating their services with the entity.

Bank Zero's co-founder and executive director, Lezanne Human, responded to Sunday World's questions by stating that the bank was taking due diligence very seriously.

This was after questions regarding the business deal that Bank Zero has with Rappa were sent to Jordaan, who later asked Human to respond to this publication.

"As a digital bank, we have streamlined processes which pick up on issues with prospective customers during on-boarding and with existing customers throughout their life cycle.

"During onboarding, our systems automatically check extensively for adverse media and sanctions through a range of sources. We also check for other info such as politically exposed person (PEP) status, etc, but not mentioning this here because [it is] not relevant to the specific topic at hand," said Human.