TymeBank hits 7 million customers in South Africa

TymeBank has reached 7 million customers in South Africa, with group claiming to add 200,000 new customers each month while carrying a 70% 30-day account activity rate.

The group has also announced a fresh round of funding, having secured two new international investors – global investment firm Blue Earth Capital and Africa-focused tech growth fund Norrsken22.

With the addition of these two new backers, the group’s shareholders have now raised a combined total of $77.8 million invested, it said.

The group said that the funds it has raised will bolster its operations in South Africa and also its businesses in the Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia.

Coen Jonker, the co-founder of Tyme and TymeBank CEO, said that the partnerships with the investors would assist in the company’s mission of “democratising financial services”.

To date, African Rainbow Capital (ARC) remains the majority shareholder of Tyme.

TymeBank is a fully digital bank known for low fees and major retail partnerships with Pick n Pay, Boxer, The Foschini Group and the largest church in South Africa, the Zion Christian Church.

“TymeBank’s exponential growth in customer numbers is evidence of how the bank is truly serving consumers’ needs. Having entered as a disruptor in the industry, it is now entrenched as the credible alternative to legacy banks in the country,” said the bank.

In October 2022, GoTyme launched in the Philippines. “The digital bank was modelled on South Africa’s TymeBank, and this imported concept has progressed financial access as it offers Filipino consumers quality, affordable and accessible financial service solutions,” said TymeBank.

The group is also expanding its global footprint further with a product development and engineering hub in Vietnam, which employs a team of skilled people.

It added that Tyme’s global headquarters in Singapore house leads its strategy, business development, data, analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) functions.

David Moore, the principal of funds at BlueEarth, said that it invested in the bank to promote financial inclusion while generating attractive commercial returns. Moore noted that TymeBank enables affordable access to banking products for consumers in remote or vulnerable locations.

Natalie Kolbe, a Managing Partner at Norrsken22, said that TymeBank offers a unique product with huge customer appeal, which has led to fast and sustained growth.

Read: What R10,000 gets you in South Africa’s major savings accounts