South Africa’s Capitec Bank reported an 18 percent rise in full-year profit on Tuesday as the lender continues its push into transactional banking.

Capitec, which grants loans not supported by assets, said it gained 1.3 million active clients, brining its total to 8.6 million customers, over the past year as feeble growth in Africa’s most advanced economy forced thrifty South Africans to shop around.

The lender posted diluted headline earnings per share of 3,270 cents for the year to end-February, compared with 2,787 cents a year earlier.

“Despite weak economic conditions, there was strong year-on-year growth in net transaction fee income,” Capitec said in a statement.

Capitec’s transaction fee income climbed 30 percent to 3.9 billion rand ($304.57 million), but interest income remains the lender’s largest source of revenue, increasing 11 percent to 14.9 billion rand.

The bank, which in 15 years grew from a startup to touch a market value of 93 billion rand, last week said it had bought a 40 percent stake in Latvia’s Creamfinance, its first acquisition outside its home market.

“We continue to grow our client numbers, branches and ATM network. This will provide us with the opportunity to offer new financial services in the future,” the bank added.

($1 = 12.8049 rand)

(Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by Sunil Nair)