Yoco has appointed Carsten Höltkemeyer as CEO from June 1, 2026, and is shifting from card machines to an all-in-one smart commerce platform.
Yoco, the South African payments company, has named Carsten Höltkemeyer as CEO, starting June 1, 2026. The company says the leadership change supports a bigger strategic shift, moving beyond selling card machines to building a broader commerce platform for small and independent businesses.
Höltkemeyer previously worked at Solaris, Barclays, and Royal Bank of Scotland. Yoco says his background fits its current phase, where it wants to scale product-led financial services, meaning growth driven mainly by a self-serve product that merchants use daily.
The appointment follows co-founder Katlego Maphai stepping back as CEO nine months ago. During the search, fellow co-founders Lungisa and Bradley served as co-CEOs. After the transition, Lungisa returns to CPTO and Bradley returns to CFO. Carl Wazen stays chief business officer, and Maphai remains involved in strategy as a co-founder.
Yoco also laid out what it is “becoming.” It wants merchants to run payments, POS (point of sale, the till and checkout system), and capital advances through one account. The company says it will use AI, meaning software that can spot patterns and make suggestions, to help merchants make better decisions and simplify operations.
Fintech competition for SMEs is shifting from single products to bundled tools. A platform approach can increase retention because merchants rely on one provider for daily sales, inventory and checkout workflows, and access to working capital.
For South African small businesses, tighter integration can reduce the cost and hassle of managing separate payment, POS, and finance tools. For Yoco, it can also improve unit economics, since it can earn across multiple services per merchant, not only on card transaction fees.
The key test will be execution. Building a simple “all-in-one” product for very different merchant types, from cafés to service businesses, is hard. Merchants will judge the platform on reliability, pricing, and whether the AI features actually save time and grow revenue.
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