Bard Santner Inc, a Harare-based financial services group, has secured a deposit-taking microfinance bank licence from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, paving the way for the establishment of a digital banking platform targeting Zimbabweans and other Africans living and working abroad.

In a public notice, the RBZ said Bard Santner Microfinance Bank Limited had been registered as a deposit-taking microfinance institution with effect from October 1, 2026, under the Microfinance Act (Chapter 24:30) and the Microfinance (General) Regulations, 2025.

The licence authorises the institution to receive savings deposits, extend consumer and mortgage credit, provide money transmission services, buy and sell foreign currency subject to exchange-control regulations, facilitate import and export transactions, offer financial leasing and provide portfolio management and advisory services.

The bank will focus on diaspora remittances, savings, investment and cross-border payments, building on the group's existing involvement in the remittance market through its subsidiary, TX Money Transfer.

Bard Santner Group has offices in Harare, Johannesburg, South Africa, and New York, United States, and says it intends to develop a digital-first financial institution connecting diaspora customers with businesses and investment opportunities in Zimbabwe and across Africa.

Bard Santner Microfinance Bank managing director Ngonidzashe Chikowore said the institution was being established to address the financial needs of customers whose work, earnings and investments span different countries.

“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  s an institution, no matter how small to start with, that meets them where they live, earn, transact and aspire.”

Chikowore said the bank would prioritise agility, technology and customer service as it develops its operations, with ambitions to expand and secure a merchant or commercial banking licence in the future.

He said the institution would operate within Zimbabwe's regulatory framework while providing services designed for cross-border transactions.

“A nurse in Manchester, UK, or doctor in Melbourne, Australia, a restaurant worker in Johannesburg, South Africa, should be able to send money home or fund a business in Harare or Bulawayo as easily as he or she pays an electricity bill electronically, orders an Uber or pizza digitally,” he said.

“A businessman in Harare, Johannesburg, Nairobi or Cairo should be able to invest in Lagos without losing a week to settlement delays. That is the concept and standard we are bringing.”

Zimbabwe's diaspora remittances reached US$2.45 billion in 2025, a 14% increase on the previous year, according to figures cited in the bank's announcement. Formal remittances reached US$1.62 billion in the first seven months of 2026, up 24% from the corresponding period in 2025, according to the RBZ.

The group said the bank's planned products would include multi-currency accounts, diaspora-linked savings instruments, remittance-to-investment services and trade finance for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Bard Santner Group chief executive Senziwani Sikhosana said the licence would enable the group to develop a regulated platform through which diaspora customers could save, invest and participate in economic activities in their home countries.

“Securing this deposit-taking microfinance bank licence is a transformative moment for millions of Zimbabweans and other global citizens who call more than one country home,” Sikhosana said.

“We will not just be moving money; we are bridging people and economies.”

The group said the bank would introduce its services in phases, with full banking operations expected to commence soon.