TymeBank now making ‘sustainable’ profits

Tyme Group is continuing to grow its client base, with TymeBank now achieving sustainable profit levels.

In an investment update, ARC Investments said that the Tyme Group has continued its strong growth trajectory, with 14.4 million customers across TymeBank (10 million) and GoTymeBank (4.4 million) as of September 30, 2024.

It added that the average activity rate is 74% across these customers, including transactional activity and deposit balances.

It noted that TymeBank achieved sustainable profit levels on 30 September 2024, while GoTymeBank continues to track in line with its key metrics.

TymeBank reached its first month of profitability in December 2023, less than five years since its February 2019 launch.

This made it the first digital bank to break even in South Africa and on the continent.

ARC Investments added that the acquisition of Savii, a Philippine payroll lender, has been finalised and integration is underway.

“Further strengthening its leadership, TymeBank appointed Karl Westvig, former CEO of Retail Capital,
as its new CEO effective October 1st 2024,” said ARC.

“TymeBank continues to grow its lending book within well-defined risk parameters. Tymebank’s deposit base continues to grow, with notable growth in the fixed deposit product in line with expectations.”

“Tyme Group is now pursuing a Series D capital raise to enhance the profitability of the existing operations and fuel expansion into new markets.”

The company, which is valued at $1 billion (R18 billion) previously said that the Series D funding would be used to build scale as it prepares for an initial public offering.

The group previously said that its target is to list TymeBank in New York by 2028, with a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange likely.

ARC’s other top companies

ARC has also highlighted the performance of some of its other companies.

For instance, the group said that Rain has reported a successful quarter market by major growth in mobile customers, fueled by the popularity of its rainOne and rain mobile offerings.

“This success is further underscored by a major network upgrade to Huawei’s Apollo 5.5G, boosting performance and capacity.”

“Additionally, rain expanded its connectivity options with new offerings, including the 101 pro and 101 xtender, providing customers with more choices. These achievements highlight rain’s continued growth and momentum in the telecommunications market.”

The group added that Ooba is experiencing a marked increase in home loan applications following the recent interest rate cuts.

The South African Reserve Bank cut interest rates by a cumulative 50 basis points in September and November 2024.

“This positive trend is reflected in key metrics exceeding budget expectations, including average daily application intake, average bond size, and conversion rates.

“October bond production increased significantly, up 18.7% compared to the same period last year and 26.8% compared to the previous month.”

“This strong performance positions ooba for continued success, with the existing business on track to meet budget targets. Moreover, management remains focused on executing growth strategies and leveraging synergies within the ARC network to capitalise on this positive momentum.”

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