Discovery Bank has reported a normalised profit from operations of R370 million for the year ended 30 June 2026, marking a turnaround from the R68 million loss recorded in the previous period.
The bank’s move into profitability comes as it continues to scale its customer base, increase revenue and accelerate its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven capabilities.
In its latest results, the digital-only bank says its client numbers increased 26% to 1.57 million during the year, while revenue climbed 31% to R3.1 billion.
Operating expenses also benefited from economies of scale as the bank expanded. Discovery says this drove a significant improvement in profitability and returns, while maintaining disciplined risk outcomes.
As a result of this growth trajectory, the bank is targeting an annual profit of R3 billion by 2029, while aiming to grow revenue by 15% to 20% each year.
The profitability milestone comes as Discovery Bank evolves from a rapidly-scaling banking operation, into a broader platform dubbed a “super bank”, connecting the group's different businesses.
Discovery Group CEO Adrian Gore says the bank is entering a new strategic phase in SA as it evolves into an integrated platform.
“The strategy is intended to connect the different parts of Discovery’s ecosystem more closely, with the bank playing a central role in bringing banking, health, insurance and investments together. The objective is to create shared value, greater personalisation and improved customer experiences.”
Discovery Bank’s move into profitability was supported by revenue growth and greater operating efficiency as the bank scales.
Seventy percent of new business came from outside the Discovery Group − pointing to the bank’s ability to attract customers beyond Discovery’s existing ecosystem, it says.
AI is another component of Discovery Bank’s expansion, with its technology-driven approach being incorporated into Discovery’s broader shared-value model, which combines behavioural science, data, advanced analytics and AI-driven personalisation, it says.
Discovery Bank CEO Hylton Kallner previously told ITWeb that the bank’s strategic shift is about collapsing traditional product silos and creating a unified platform that embeds banking within a broader scope of integrated services offered through parent company Discovery Group.
Discovery Group is a diversified financial services organisation that encompasses a health medical scheme, long-term insurance, investment products, a travel booking platform and a wellness programme.
Kallner explained: “We are integrating the entire Discovery ecosystem into the Discovery Bank app. When we began the process in late 2025, the results were immediate, with significant increases in client engagement across health, life and insurance products.
“People use the Discovery Bank app every day, making it the primary digital channel for all Discovery products.”
The bank says it will launch the second phase of its “super bank” strategy, which also connects the entire group’s offerings with AI, on 1 October.
In its financial results, Discovery says this model is designed to improve health and financial outcomes, while creating long-term value for customers, shareholders and society.
“For Discovery Bank, the combination of AI capabilities, increased customer engagement and greater scale is contributing to the improvement in financial performance.”
Discovery Bank’s balance sheet continued to expand during the year, with retail deposits increasing 17% from R23.3 billion to R27.2 billion, while gross retail advances climbed 40% from R9.2 billion to R12.9 billion.
“The growth in retail advances was achieved while maintaining credit prudency, with continued momentum in home loans. Average interest-earning assets increased 11% to R27.3 billion from R24.6 billion, supporting a 29% increase in net interest income to R1.314 billion.”
Discovery Bank’s performance also feeds into the broader performance of Discovery South Africa.
The South African business increased normalised operating profit by 16% to R13.868 billion, while new business volumes increased 8% to R19.534 billion.
Within the group's businesses, Discovery Health increased normalised operating profit by 9%, Discovery Life increased operating profit by 6% to R5.872 billion, Discovery Invest increased operating profit by 9% to R2.157 billion, and Discovery Insure delivered 29% growth in normalised profit from operations before associates.
Discovery Bank is now adding a profitable banking operation to this broader South African portfolio, it says.
Its R370 million profit, 1.57 million customers and R3.1 billion in revenue give the bank a significantly larger platform from which Discovery can pursue the next stage of its super bank strategy.
Discovery’s overall normalised profit from operations increased 17% to R17.75 billion for the year.
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