Bank Zero was co-founded in 2018, by Michael Jordaan and Yatin Narsai. By the end of 2018, after integration with the
South African Reserve Bank, Bank Zero was a full settlement bank. In early 2019, Bank Zero integrated into the rest of the
South African national payments system to become a full clearing bank with an independent licence. Instead of storing the
card number that is embossed on the card on both the
magnetic stripe, and in the
card chip, the debit card would have three different card numbers for each: the embossed number, the magnetic strip, and the card chip. After disruptions due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the bank's launch was further delayed, until 2021. In June 2025,
Lesaka Technologies (formerly Net1 UEPS Technologies) acquired Bank Zero for R1.091 billion. == Operations ==