South Africa's card payments firm brings in European fintech executive as founders step back from day-to-day leadership

Yoco has appointed Carsten Höltkemeyer, a German banking executive with over 20 years of European financial services experience, as its new CEO from June 2026. The Cape Town payments company, which provides card machines and transaction services to small businesses, has been searching for a permanent CEO since co-founder Katlego Maphai stepped down in August 2025.

Höltkemeyer joins from Solaris SE, a German banking-as-a-service provider (a company that builds the software infrastructure that allows other businesses to offer banking products). He served as Solaris CEO from October 2022 to the end of 2025, and previously held roles at Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland.

The appointment follows a nine-month interim period during which co-founders Lungisa Matshoba and Bradley Wattrus served as co-CEOs whilst Yoco conducted a global search. Both will now return to their previous roles as chief product and technology officer, and CFO respectively. Carl Wazen continues as chief business officer, whilst Maphai remains involved in company strategy.

When a founder steps aside and a company hires an external CEO, it typically signals a shift in strategic priorities. In Yoco's case, the company says it's moving beyond card payments towards building what it calls an "all-in-one smart commerce platform". This means expanding from hardware (card machines) and transaction processing into additional services that help merchants run their businesses.