DLA Piper advises South Africa’s leading banks on SARB shareholding in PayInc

DLA Piper has represented South Africa’s leading banks in the acquisition by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Capitec Bank and Investec Bank of shares in the South African Bankers Services Company (PayInc, formerly known as BankServ), Africa’s leading automated clearing house (ACH).

DLA Piper advised Absa Bank, Capitec Bank, FirstRand, Nedbank, Standard Bank, Investec Bank and Dandyshelf on the subscription by SARB, Capitec and Investec for shares in PayInc.

The transaction establishes PayInc as a national payment utility for collaboration between SARB and key players in the financial services industry, aimed at delivering an inclusive, public-interest driven infrastructure that supports payment related objectives. This is in accordance with the Government’s strategy and policy direction for South Africa’s National Payment System, which includes the SARB’s payment ecosystem modernisation programme.

The DLA Piper team was led by Corporate directors Johannes Gouws and Lorica Elferink, supported by Sibusile Khusi (senior associate), Zanele Mkhatshwa (candidate attorney) and Lemont Shondlani (candidate attorney).

With more than 1,000 corporate lawyers globally, DLA Piper helps clients execute complex transactions while supporting clients across all stages of development. The firm has been rated number one in global M&A volume for 15 consecutive years and has been number 1 across Africa and the Middle East by M&A deal volume for the past two years, according to Mergermarket. It is also number one in M&A for combined global deal volume according to PitchBook.