Strate

What Strate does

Strate (Share Transactions Totally Electronic Limited) is South Africa's sole licensed Central Securities Depository (CSD) and central collateral platform, established in November 1998 and headquartered in Sandton, Johannesburg. The company is a private entity owned by seven major South African financial institutions (ABSA, CitiBank, FirstRand/FNB, JSE Ltd, Mercantile Bank, Nedbank, and Standard Bank), having converted from public to private ownership in 2010. As a licensed Financial Market Infrastructure under the Financial Markets Act, Strate is mandated to provide electronic settlement, safekeeping, registry, and corporate actions services for equities, bonds, money markets, and ETFs across public and private markets, with all exchanges (JSE, A2X, CTSE, I-Ex) connected to its infrastructure.

Strate's technology stack is built around best-in-class industry platforms and proprietary integration layers: TCS BaNCS MI for core settlement (replacing the legacy SAFIRES platform via an IT Roadmap completed in 2020), Clearstream's tri-party collateral management platform under a partnership live since 2011, and Nasdaq's e-Voting platform launched in 2018. The company maintains proprietary ISO 20022 messaging and conversion services through SWIFT connectivity, ranks in the top 2% of SWIFT Network users internationally, and has achieved 99.995% uptime for four consecutive years. Newer digital assets include the StrateEdge data platform (2023), the StrateForward client portal (July 2025), the Investor Insights Module (July 2025), and the Trade Repository for OTC derivatives (November 2024).

The business model is multi-stream and fee-based: CSD services (settlement, safekeeping, registry, corporate actions) on a transaction-fee basis; collateral services on transaction fees with optimization rules; integration services (ISO 20022 conversion, SWIFT bureau) on transaction and subscription fees; data services on subscription; and trade repository reporting on transaction fees. Distribution is exclusively direct B2B to licensed CSD Participants — all major South African banks, custodians, exchanges, and nominees, plus international institutions such as JPMorgan, UBS, Bidvest, and Abior Capital Markets. A direct CSD-to-CSD link with Euroclear Bank (live since January 2024) provides cross-border access for dual-listed issuers and international investors.

Name

Strate

Legal name

Strate Proprietary Limited

Website

https://strate.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Strate is South Africa's sole licensed central securities depository and central collateral platform, providing electronic settlement, safekeeping, registry, collateral management, and data services to banks, asset managers, exchanges, and issuers across SA capital markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Post-Trade Financial Market Infrastructure

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

National CSDs & Domestic Settlement Systems (FSAFAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Securities Trade Processing & Matching (STP) (FSAFALAA), Securities Financing Transactions (SFT) & Repo Reporting Utilities (FSAFAJAE), Collateral Management & Margin Services (FSAFALAF)

Keywords

• Central securities depository
• Post-trade settlement
• Collateral management
• Trade repository
• Securities settlement infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Gauteng

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. CSD Services Fees: Fees for safekeeping of securities ownership records, registry services, settlement processing, and corporate actions for equities, bonds, money markets and ETFs. Services provided to listed and unlisted securities covering public and private markets.
2. Collateral Services Fees: Tri-party collateral management platform fees for collateral givers and receivers including automated selection, allocation, optimization, and substitution of collateral securities.
3. Integration Services Fees: Fees for secure digital messaging services, ISO 20022 conversion, and connectivity to Strate's network for market participants.
4. Data Services Fees: Market data subscriptions, Market Insights reports, CSDP Insights reports, and Money Market Publishing Agent Reports provided to investors, issuers, and regulators.
5. Trade Repository Fees: Reporting fees for OTC derivatives trade repository services supporting regulatory compliance with G20 OTC derivatives reporting requirements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Strate is South Africa's only licensed central securities depository (CSD) and central collateral platform, delivering electronic safekeeping of securities ownership records, settlement processing, asset servicing and corporate actions for equities, bonds, money market instruments, and ETFs. Beyond core CSD services, Strate provides tri-party collateral management (built with Clearstream), integration/messaging services via ISO 20022 and SWIFT, digital e-Voting for shareholder meetings (with Nasdaq), market data and investor insights through StrateEdge, and South Africa's first licensed OTC derivatives Trade Repository.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Strate Academy: Educational initiative committed to enhancing knowledge of the securities industry through seminars and customised training programmes
• Strate Charity Shares (SCS)
• Strate Supervision
• Strate Edge
• StrateForward
• Trade Repository

Products and services

• CSD Services (Securities Settlement, Safekeeping, and Asset Servicing) Central securities depository services for equities, bonds, money market securities, and ETFs covering listed and unlisted securities. Provides electronic safekeeping of securities ownership records, settlement processing with netting model (T+3 for equities), corporate actions automation, allotment reporting, and registry services for CSD Participants and corporate issuers in the South African market.
• Collateral Services (Tri-Party Collateral Management) Tri-party collateral management platform developed in partnership with Clearstream (Deutsche Börse Group), providing automated selection, allocation, optimization, and substitution of collateral with real-time monitoring, daily evaluation and reconciliation. Supports banks, asset managers, insurance companies and the first non-bank Regulatory Initial Margin (Reg IM) exchange (Sanlam, February 2026).
• e-Voting Platform State-of-the-art digital voting platform developed with Nasdaq (blockchain-based), enabling electronic voting for South African shareholder meetings with real-time participation, ability to change votes before meeting close, in-platform chat, fully auditable results, and integrated vote processing through Broadridge and ISS GPD for foreign and global custodian bank clients.
• Integration Services (ISO 20022 Messaging and SWIFT Connectivity) Secure messaging platform enabling market participants to create and exchange digital instructions with built-in message parsing, delivery tracking, and audit trail. Provides format conversion for ISO 20022 compliance, SWIFT connectivity (Strate is in the top 2% of SWIFT Network users internationally with 99.995% uptime), self-help portals for connection management, and the Afriverse alternative private gateway network across Africa.
• Trade Repository (OTC Derivatives) Centralised registry for OTC derivatives contracts supporting G20 OTC derivatives reporting requirements, providing infrastructure for risk exposure transparency, reporting efficiencies, and risk mitigation. Operational from November 2024 as South Africa's first Trade Repository, licensed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority with concurrence from the Prudential Authority.
• StrateEdge Data Platform Trusted, neutral point of access for market data and insights across security types, enhancing market transparency through settlement data, corporate actions and registry information. Includes an Investor Insights module providing real-time data-driven intelligence on investor activity, ownership composition, investor type breakdown, and top shareholder identification.
• StrateForward Client Portal Digital client platform launched July 2025 providing real-time access to register services, corporate actions (dividend funding letters, upcoming corporate events), allotments, reporting, and Investor Insights data on ownership composition and shareholder trends. Replaces or augments the existing Strate Online portal.
• Converge Platform (Unlisted Bond Management) Digital access point for bilateral trade reporting of unlisted bonds transactions, supporting private market debt issuance with autonomous trade reporting, centralised settlement, and enhanced confidence for issuers and investors (e.g., SA Home Loans R495 million unlisted bond issuance in January 2026 under its R10 billion approved funding programme).
• Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) Issuance Strate operates as South Africa's Local Operating Unit (LOU) mandated by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) to issue and record all Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) for the South African market, after receiving approval from the Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC) in 2014.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.995% uptime achieved for four consecutive years
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers29 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• CSD CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Established by Strate consisting of CSD Participants to provide a unified approach to driving shared-value creation for the financial market ecosystem.
• Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS)supportingTechnology or Integration · 1 August 2023ISS GPD and Strate integrated their services to streamline the proxy voting lifecycle for global and local custodian banks using ISS GPD outsource voting solutions.
• Euroclear BankcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Strate was admitted as a Participant of Euroclear Bank, opening a direct CSD-to-CSD link enabling automated cross-border securities transfers (cross-border removals), efficient access to global funds, and digital access to global equities and bonds. First automated cross-border transfer of inward listed securities (Assura PLC) went live January 2024.
• Broadridge Financial SolutionssupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 July 2022Broadridge and Strate integrated their end-to-end vote processing solutions to create a better proxy voting experience for foreign clients voting on South African listed assets, enhancing the e-Voting ecosystem.
• Trustlink (Pty) LtdsupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 July 2022Strate acquired 100% of Trustlink's SWIFT Bureau Services business in July 2022 to strengthen and expand its integration service offering.
• IntengosupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 August 2021Strate supported integration of Intengo, a digital platform supporting the issuance process for debt securities in private markets, expanding Strate's reach into private market debt issuance.
• NasdaqcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 November 2017Nasdaq delivers blockchain-based e-Voting solution for South African capital markets. The platform enables electronic voting for shareholder meetings with real-time participation, vote changes before meeting close, and fully auditable results. Solution is based on Nasdaq's successful proof of concept developed for Estonia market.
• A2X MarketscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2017A2X Markets appointed Strate to provide settlement services when it launched as a new exchange in October 2017. First non-cash collateral exposure between A2X Markets and one of its brokers was successfully reported and settled using Strate's Tri-Party Collateral Management Services. A2X has experienced 100% uptime on Strate's integration services.
• ClearstreamcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2013Clearstream (part of Deutsche Börse Group) provides the underlying technology platform for Strate's tri-party collateral management services. The partnership enables automated collateral selection, allocation, optimization, and substitution with daily evaluation and reconciliation. Systems were successfully integrated in 2015 to launch the tri-party collateral management service for the South African market.
• Tata Consulting Services (TCS)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2012TCS provides the TCS BaNCS MI application which replaced Strate's existing settlement systems as part of the IT Roadmap. The migration of money market securities to BaNCS began in 2017, with equities settlement migrating in 2020 completing the IT Roadmap. Strate's CSD Services are supported through the TCS Bancs platform.
• SWIFTcoreTechnology or IntegrationStrate is one of the top 2% users of the SWIFT Network internationally, achieving 99.995% uptime for the last four years. Integration Services provide connectivity to the SWIFT network for financial market participants.
• JSEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJSE is a key stakeholder and shareholder in Strate, collaborating on equity settlement migration to T+3, joint Strate Charity Shares initiative with ComputerShare and PSG, and market-wide initiatives. JSE Clear (JSE's clearing house) operates in the same ecosystem.
• South African Institute of Financial Markets (SAIFM)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrate collaborates with SAIFM for online exam facilities for compliance officer certification. Strate Academy provides training and accreditation for compliance officers appointed by CSD participants.
• Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrate is authorised as South Africa's Local Operating Unit (LOU) for Legal Entity Identifiers, mandated by GLEIF to issue and record all LEIs for the South African market.
• World Forum of CSDssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrate participates in the World Forum of CSDs to exchange information and experiences with others in a spirit of mutual cooperation and promote best practice recommendations.
• International Securities Services Association (ISSA)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrate is a member of ISSA to exchange information and experiences with others in a spirit of mutual cooperation.
• Americas' Central Securities and Depository Association (ACSDA)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrate is a member of ACSDA to engage with other central securities depositories on best practices.
• Strate Charity SharessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint market initiative with JSE, ComputerShare and PSG to donate value locked up in odd lots of unwanted securities to charitable causes. Has given over R10 million to worthy causes since formation.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Euroclear: One of the world's largest international CSDs, headquartered in Brussels. Strate is a Euroclear Bank participant, and Euroclear provides the cross-border CSD-to-CSD link for South African securities. Both operate central securities depository infrastructure at the core.
• SIX SIS: Swiss CSD operated by SIX Group, providing settlement, safekeeping, and asset servicing for Swiss and international securities. Comparable to Strate as a mid-sized national CSD with international connectivity, operating in a similar regulated post-trade environment.
• Clearstream (Deutsche Börse): International CSD and provider of tri-party collateral management services, owned by Deutsche Börse Group. Clearstream provides the underlying technology for Strate's collateral management platform, making it both a partner and the most directly comparable global CSD in terms of collateral services.
• DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation): The largest post-trade market infrastructure provider in the world, operating the primary US CSD and clearing houses. Provides comparable services (settlement, asset servicing, trade reporting) at much greater scale, and serves as the benchmark for global CSD operations.

Others

• Nasdaq: Global exchange operator and technology provider that partners with Strate to provide the e-Voting platform. While not a direct CSD competitor in South Africa, Nasdaq's market technology business and competing exchange/CSD infrastructure make it a relevant ecosystem peer and potential competitive entrant.

Regional players

• ASX Settlement (Australian Securities Exchange): Settlement and depository infrastructure operated by ASX in Australia. Comparable to Strate as a single-country CSD in a mid-sized developed/emerging market, with similar regulatory mandate and critical infrastructure role.
• Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS, Nigeria): Nigerian CSD providing settlement, clearing, and depository services for the Nigerian capital market. Most relevant African CSD peer, given Strate's Afriverse pan-African strategy and both companies' emerging market context.
• B3 (Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão): Brazilian financial market infrastructure operator combining exchange, CSD, and clearing services. Highly comparable to Strate as a leading emerging market FMI with monopoly CSD position in its home jurisdiction, serving a similar role in a BRICS economy.

Emerging players

• Takasbank (Turkish CSD/CCP): Turkish central securities depository and clearing house. Comparable as an emerging market CSD serving a single jurisdiction with comprehensive post-trade services, including collateral management and settlement.

Direct peers

• JSE Clear: South Africa's primary clearing house (CCP) for equities, operated by JSE Limited. Operates in the same post-trade ecosystem as Strate, providing clearing services that complement Strate's settlement and depository services for JSE-listed securities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/StrateCSD
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/61085

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Strate