Bank Zero will only open next year

Bank Zero has delayed its official launch, with the bank sent to announce a new timeframe within the coming weeks.

In an emailed response to BusinessTech, CEO Yatin Narsai said that the bank does not have a ‘fixed-in-stone’ timeframe as yet, and is currently working towards a ‘big internal milestone’.

“We have walked away from doing a soft public launch this year; however, we are still on track for starting widely-spread public operations next year,” he said.

“Our progress is solid but we don’t want the additional complexity of a soft launch to interfere with our focus on the wider launch of our bank – we have multiple projects running in parallel at full speed.

“In the meantime, we are learning lots from our internal beta testing.”

Competition

Bank Zero was co-founded by Narsai and investor Michael Jordaan, who will serve as chairman of the bank.

The digital bank will compete with traditional banks, as well as newly launched Tyme Bank, and Discovery Bank which are also offering digital banking solutions.

However Bank Zero differs in that it will not offer credit and will handle all of its services and communications via an app.

In this way, it is going against the traditional banking grain, and targeting a younger, more tech-savvy market that wants to do their banking the same way they interact with other digital media.

• There will be no branches.
• To access cash, customers can use ATMs locally and internationally. Cash-out at major local retailers will also be available.
• All processes have been designed from the ground up with digital interaction in mind.
• All communication will be app-driven. Email communication will also be available.
• Customers can become shareholders, based on the type of savings products they have.

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