The ‘new’ bank without bank branches that will offer Smart ID services
GoTyme Bank is rolling out hubs across South Africa as the rebranded bank continues to expand its physical presence, though it has no actual bank branches.
GoTyme Bank, which was recently rebranded from Tymebank, is already one of the largest banks in South Africa by customers despite launching to the public in 2019.
The bank has over 12.5 million customers in South Africa. Given that one needs to be South African and over 16 to open an account with GoTyme, 1 in 3 of those eligible already have an account with the bank.
Like other digital banks, GoTyme does not operate physical branches and instead uses its app, kiosks in retailers, and customer service hubs to engage with customers.
Speaking with BusinessTech, GoTyme CEO Cheslyn Jacobs said that the bank plans to expand its customer service hub offerings across South Africa.
The bank launched its first updated customer hubs since the rebrand to GoTyme this month, and it plans to open 100 new customer service hubs across the country this year.
The first customer service hubs were opened at Rosebank Mall, in a wealthy area of Northern Johannesburg, and at Dobsonville Mall in Soweto.
Jacobs said that the new customer hubs will be the same, no matter where they are.
The experiences in Rosebank and Dobsonville are thus identical despite the differing socioeconomic environments of those areas.
Jacobs noted that the new Rosebank location is outside the mall’s banking quarter, and that its competitors are impressed by the hub.
While the bank is expanding its customer hubs nationwide, it is reducing its kiosk network.
The group is removing its customer kiosks from Pick n Pay stores across the country, despite Pick n Pay being its primary physical presence in the country since its launch.
The bank will continue to partner with The Foschini Group and Pick n Pay-controlled Boxer for its kiosks.
Jacobs said that the bank is not partnering with any other retailers to open its kiosks, but confirmed that it will roll out new kiosks at Boxers as the value retailer continues its expansion.
Smart ID plans
GoTyme Bank is also working with the Department of Home Affairs to offer Smart ID services in line with the government’s expansion goal, even if exact details remain choppy.
After launching a pilot project with banks a decade ago, Home Affairs is working with banks across the country to expand the service via a new partnership, which offers banks greater control.
While the initial pilot saw Home Affairs staff seconded to branches across the country, the new service gives banks greater access to Home Affairs’ systems.
In its first week of the new service, Capitec and Standard Bank introduced Smart ID services at over 30 branches across the country, doubling the existing network.
GoTyme is one of the many banks that have signed on to the expanded service, but it has a unique issue: it has no branches.
Jacobs said that GoTyme is watching the rollout closely, which includes self-service offerings at the new bank branches.
The bank is thus working closely with Home Affairs over how and when it will start offering Smart ID services.
It previously told our sister publication, MyBroadband, that it will only participate in the second phase of the rollout, as the initial phase focuses on bank branches.
Battle with Home Affairs
On top of the Smart ID rollout, Jacobs said that the bank is also engaging with Home Affairs following a public spat with Minister Leon Schreiber last year.
Last year, Home Affairs announced its plans to increase the fee for identity verification checks from 15 cents to R10.
Schreiber said that the cost of maintaining and upgrading the system increased each year, while the ID verification fee remained unchanged for over a decade.
GoTyme said the increase to this fee would be crippling for the banking industry and would have huge consequences for those serving vulnerable communities.
It wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana, and the Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago, urging them to intervene over the increase, which drew Schreiber’s ire.
“The CEO of a Unicorn worth R26,700,000,000 demands that taxpayers struggling to afford food must subsidise it, as it refuses to pay more than 15 cents for a service that costs vastly more to provide and that contributes to ‘system offline’ at Home Affairs offices,” Schreiber tweeted.
Jacobs said that the bank is now directly engaging with Home Affairs over the fee increase, and is not engaging in a public spat.
He said the bank is not opposed to fee increases, but is seeking a middle ground on the 6,500% increase. He added that any fee increase must benefit the end user.
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