Sava
Sava is a South Africa-based Banking-as-a-Service platform providing licensed accounts, cards, payments, and KYC/KYB infrastructure as a single API to fintechs, lenders, and non-bank platforms across Africa, operating in South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersJohannesburg, South Africa
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Sava does
Sava is a South Africa-headquartered Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform that delivers licensed banking infrastructure — accounts, cards, payments, and KYC/KYB compliance — as a single API to fintechs, lenders, and non-bank platforms across Africa. Founded in 2021/2022 by Kola Olajide and Lebogang Maimane after an 18-month struggle to obtain banking rails for their own spend management product, the company built its own sponsor bank integrations, regulatory licences, and production-grade issuing infrastructure to serve as the underlying rail layer for the African fintech ecosystem.
The platform is cloud-native, cloud-agnostic, and built on composable microservices using Go, NATS JetStream event-driven messaging, CQRS patterns, ISO 20022 payment standards, mTLS, and idempotent operations with 7-year audit retention. Sava holds a comprehensive regulatory envelope — SARB GN5 approval (January 2025), FSCA FSP licence 53169, NCR credit provider registration, FIC accountable institution status, PCI-DSS, and SOC2 Type 2 — anchored by sponsor bank partnerships with Access Bank South Africa and Choice Bank, plus a Mastercard strategic partnership for card issuance and Apple Pay/Google Pay tokenisation. The proprietary BirdsEye compliance platform offers 500+ configurable AML rules, real-time KYC/KYB, screening at 1000+ transactions/hour, and an AI co-pilot for SAR drafting.
Sava generates revenue through transaction fees, account provisioning fees, and platform access fees on a quote-based, multi-year enterprise contract model, serving customers including Flutterwave ($31B in annual processed transactions), Yoco (200K+ merchants), Happy Pay (500K+ BNPL customers), Complete Farmer, Carrot Credit, Zazu, and Point to Point Capital. The company also operates its own SAVA Spend Management Platform in South Africa, combining business banking, corporate cards with real-time spend limits, mobile receipt capture, and accounting reconciliation. Operations span South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana, with the company headquartered in Johannesburg and an engineering hub in Accra.
Sava firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sava
- Legal name
- SAVA Technologies Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://sava.africa
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sava is a South Africa-based Banking-as-a-Service platform providing licensed accounts, cards, payments, and KYC/KYB infrastructure as a single API to fintechs, lenders, and non-bank platforms across Africa, operating in South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sava industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Banking-as-a-Service Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- BaaS Platforms & Sponsor Bank Enablement (FSAGALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) Neobanks / Neobank Enablers (FSABAFAL), Neobank Core Platform (Retail/SME Digital Bank) (FSAGAAAA), Risk, Compliance & Controls for Embedded Finance (KYB/KYC/AML, Fraud, Disputes) (FSAGALAK), Reconciliation, Ledgering & Money Movement Ops (Sub-ledgers, Settlement, Reporting) (FSAGALAL)
Keywords
Where Sava is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Johannesburg
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices3 records
Markets served
Sava business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Banking-as-a-Service Platform Fees: SAVA operates as a licensed BaaS provider charging fintechs, lenders, and platforms for access to banking infrastructure including account creation, card issuance, payments, and KYC/KYB services. Revenue derived from per-transaction fees, account provisioning fees, and platform access fees.
- Card Issuing and Payment Rails: Revenue from issuing physical and virtual Mastercard cards, EFT transfers, real-time payments, and cross-border payment corridors. Includes interchange income from card transactions.
- Compliance and KYB/KYC Services: BirdsEye compliance platform provides KYC/KYB verification, AML monitoring, fraud detection, and regulatory reporting as part of the BaaS offering.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise BaaS Infrastructure |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Sava product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SAVA operates a licensed Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform that delivers accounts, cards, payments, and KYC/KYB compliance as composable API primitives for fintechs, lenders, marketplaces, and corporates across Africa. The platform is anchored by a full regulatory envelope (GN5 approval, FSCA FSP 53169, NCR, FIC, PCI-DSS) and deep sponsor bank integrations (Access Bank, Choice Bank), enabling non-bank platforms to launch financial products in weeks rather than months. The offering is complemented by the proprietary BirdsEye compliance platform for AML/KYC and the SAVA Spend Management Platform providing business banking with corporate cards and accounting reconciliation.
Product overview
SAVA operates as a Banking-as-a-Service platform providing licensed banking infrastructure for African fintechs and non-bank platforms. The core offering is the SAVA BaaS API, a single licensed stack delivering four capabilities: Accounts (business and personal accounts, wallets), Cards (physical and virtual Mastercard issuance), Payments (EFT, RTC, debit orders), and KYC/KYB compliance. The platform is complemented by the proprietary BirdsEye compliance platform for AML, fraud detection, and regulatory monitoring, and the Spend Management Platform targeting South African enterprises with corporate cards, receipt capture, and accounting reconciliation. SAVA supports six official SDKs (TypeScript, Python, Go, PHP, Ruby, Kotlin) with full sandbox parity, and connects to payment networks (Mastercard) and digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay) for card issuance and tokenisation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SAVA BaaS API (Banking-as-a-Service Platform) Licensed banking infrastructure API delivering accounts, cards, payments, KYC/KYB, and compliance as composable primitives for fintechs, lenders, and marketplaces across South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana. Anchored by regulatory licences (GN5, FSCA FSP 53169, NCR, FIC) and sponsor bank integrations (Access Bank, Choice Bank), it enables non-bank platforms to launch financial products in days rather than months.
- BirdsEye Compliance Platform Purpose-built compliance platform for Banking-as-a-Service providing real-time KYC/AML/KYB monitoring, fraud detection with 500+ configurable rules, transaction screening at 1000+ txns/hour, AI co-pilot for alert analysis and SAR drafting, document vault with version control, and regulatory reporting capabilities for fintech and lender clients.
- SAVA Spend Management Platform South Africa's first fully-functional spend management platform combining business banking, corporate cards with real-time spend limits, mobile receipt capture, and accounting software reconciliation. Targets South African enterprises and competes with global fintechs like Ramp and Alaan.
- SAVA SDKs Official SDKs in six programming languages (TypeScript v4.12.0, Python v4.11.2, Go v4.12.0, PHP v4.10.1, Ruby v4.9.0, Kotlin v4.8.3) enabling developers to integrate SAVA's banking infrastructure with sandbox parity to production, idempotent operations, webhooks over HTTPS, and strongly-typed contracts.
Quantifiable outcome
- 62% reduction in time-to-card for enterprise clients (from 22 days to 8 days average)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Sava
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Sava technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability4 records
Feature6 records
Sava partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- MastercardcoreMastercard strategic engagement since 2022. Partnership enables card issuing (physical and virtual Mastercard), Apple Pay & Google Pay tokenisation, and co-marketing. March 2024 Mastercard press release announced partnership to empower Africa's small businesses. SAVA card programme integrated with Mastercard network tokens and 3D Secure 2.2.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sava competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Maplerad: Africa-focused BaaS provider based in Nigeria offering embedded accounts, cards, and compliance APIs to fintechs. Directly comparable to SAVA in product offering and target market (African fintechs), though operating in different primary geography.
- Bloc (previously Carbon): South African BaaS and embedded finance platform serving fintechs with accounts, cards, and compliance infrastructure. Operates in the same regulatory environment as SAVA with overlapping customer segments (African fintechs and lenders).
- Mono: Nigeria-based fintech infrastructure company providing banking APIs for accounts, identity, and payments across Africa. Directly comparable to SAVA in serving the same Pan-African fintech and lender market with API-first banking primitives.
- Stitch: South African financial data and payments infrastructure company offering account aggregation, payment initiation, and identity APIs. Closely aligned with SAVA's target market (South African fintechs) and overlapping product capabilities in KYC and payment rails.
Broad incumbents
- Unit: US-based BaaS platform offering embedded banking (accounts, cards, payments, lending) as APIs to fintechs and brands. Operates in a broader geography but addresses the same BaaS market and product primitives as SAVA, representing a competitive reference point.
- Treasury Prime: US-based BaaS platform connecting fintechs to bank APIs for accounts, cards, payments, and compliance. Comparable to SAVA in product scope and target customer (fintechs needing banking infrastructure) though operating at larger scale in mature markets.
- Stripe Connect: Global payments platform with embedded finance capabilities serving marketplaces and platforms. Senior Stripe operators invested in SAVA, and Stripe represents both a strategic reference and a competitive threat as it expands into emerging markets.
Regional players
- Pomelo: Latin American BaaS platform offering accounts, cards, and payment infrastructure to fintechs across multiple LatAm countries. Comparable to SAVA in product offering and multi-country embedded finance model but operating in a different geography.
- Belvo: Latin American open banking API platform providing financial data aggregation and payment initiation for fintechs. Comparable to SAVA in serving fintechs with API-first infrastructure across emerging markets, though focused on data connectivity rather than issuing.
Others
- Flutterwave: Pan-African payments unicorn (1M+ businesses, $31B annual transactions) that is both a SAVA customer and investor. Functions as a strategic partner and downstream customer of SAVA's BaaS infrastructure rather than a direct BaaS competitor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sava social profiles
Digital presenceSava compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Sava financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sava leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Sava funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sava M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sava
What does Sava do?
SAVA operates a licensed Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform that delivers accounts, cards, payments, and KYC/KYB compliance as composable API primitives for fintechs, lenders, marketplaces, and corporates across Africa. The platform is anchored by a full regulatory envelope (GN5 approval, FSCA FSP 53169, NCR, FIC, PCI-DSS) and deep sponsor bank integrations (Access Bank, Choice Bank), enabling non-bank platforms to launch financial products in weeks rather than months. The offering is complemented by the proprietary BirdsEye compliance platform for AML/KYC and the SAVA Spend Management Platform providing business banking with corporate cards and accounting reconciliation.
Is Sava a public or private company?
Sava is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Sava founded?
Sava was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sava based?
Sava is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does Sava make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Banking-as-a-Service Platform Fees are the primary driver. The others are card Issuing and Payment Rails and compliance and KYB/KYC Services.
Who are Sava's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Maplerad, Bloc (previously Carbon), Mono and Stitch. Broad incumbents are Unit, Treasury Prime and Stripe Connect. Regional players are Pomelo and Belvo. Flutterwave is listed as an others.
Does Sava have an API?
Yes. SAVA offers a Banking-as-a-Service API delivering accounts, cards, payments, KYC/KYB, and notifications as composable primitives. The API uses NATS subject namespaces with a partner JWT authentication model. Five core services: Accounts (svc.account..create, get_details, get_by_entity, list), Cards (svc.card..request, list_cards, update_status, edit, get_details, set_pin), Payments (svc.account..transfer_eft_rtc, transfer_internal, quote, reversals), Identity (svc.entity, svc.user, svc.kyb for entity/user/KYB operations), and Notifications (workqueue.notification. for real-time event streams). Engineering guarantees include sub-second continent-wide latency (p50 120ms, p95 <400ms, p99 <900ms), idempotent operations, native event subscriptions, event-sourced architecture, strongly-typed contracts, and sandbox parity with production. Developer documentation is at banking.sava.finance/docs.
What industry is Sava in?
Sava's product category is Banking-as-a-Service Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGALAA, BaaS Platforms & Sponsor Bank Enablement, with a secondary code of FSABAFAL, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) Neobanks / Neobank Enablers. Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6199.