Bard Santner Moves To Harness Regional Diaspora Inflows Via New Banking Licence
Harare-based financial services group Bard Santner Inc has secured a deposit-taking microfinance bank licence from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, laying the groundwork for a diaspora banking and investment platform designed to serve Zimbabweans and Africans worldwide.
The regulatory approval, issued under the Microfinance Act as read with the Microfinance Regulations of 2025, registered Bard Santner Microfinance Bank Limited with effect from October 1, 2026. The licence grants the institution authority to conduct 15 primary operations, including receiving savings deposits, extending consumer and mortgage credit, financing commercial transactions, issuing bank guarantees, providing structured finance, conducting money broking, and delivering portfolio management services.
The new entity serves as a foundation for the broader banking ambitions of Bard Santner Group, an asset management, corporate finance, wealth management, and securities advisory firm with operational footprints in Harare, Johannesburg, and New York.
The bank enters the market to capitalize on massive remittance volumes, which have historically functioned as cash for consumption rather than capital for development. Zimbabwean diaspora remittances hit US$2.45 billion in 2025, accounting for 16.1 percent of foreign currency earnings, while formal inflows reached US$1.62 billion in the first seven months of 2026. Regionally, African diaspora remittances reached US$124.2 billion in 2025, surpassing both foreign direct investment and official development assistance across the continent.
Bard Santner Bank Managing Director Ngonidzashe Chikowore said the institution is designed to function as an agile, digital-first cross-border connector rather than a traditional branch-heavy bank.
“This is not the launch of just another start-up bank,” Chikowore said. “Zimbabwe and Africa do not need another bank for the sake of a bank. What our people need at home and abroad is an institution that meets them where they live, earn, transact and aspire. In the digital era, agile and technology-driven banks frequently outperform traditional financial giants by prioritizing customer experience over asset size.”
Chikowore noted that the platform will allow workers abroad to transfer funds, finance businesses, or execute investments seamlessly across borders, operating as an invisible, embedded utility driven by automated systems and 24/7 availability.
The bank will leverage the infrastructure of its existing remittance subsidiary, TX Money Transfer, to deploy multi-currency accounts, instant remittance-to-investment conversion tools, diaspora savings instruments, and SME trade finance tailored for African corridors within the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Bard Santner Group Chief Executive Senziwani Sikhosana stated that the licence marks a key step in bridging people and cross-border economies.
“This licence allows us to build a trusted foundation where the diaspora can save, invest, and grow their wealth securely, directly contributing to individual, organizational and national economic development,” Sikhosana said.
The institution announced that its operational rollout will be phased, disciplined, and backed by strict capital adequacy standards and corporate governance, with full digital banking operations expected to commence soon.
