South Africans are paying millions in bank fees every year \u2013 but GoTyme Bank believes moving your own money shouldn\u2019t be one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By keeping instant payments free for transactions up to R5,000, the bank says more than R150 million a year is staying in customers\u2019 pockets instead of being collected as transaction fees. This is a deliberate bet that long-term customer value matters more than squeezing income out of everyday payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But for GoTyme Bank, customer value is about more than what customers do not pay. The bank says its GoHuman strategy is about making sure that as banking becomes more digital, the experience becomes simpler, more responsive and more human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That strategy is starting to show up in independent customer-experience measures. In the latest Ask Afrika Orange Index, GoTyme Bank climbed from sixth to second place in the banking category, while its Net Promoter Score improved by 10 points, from 48 to 58.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since rebranding to GoTyme Bank, the bank has expanded its customer-service capabilities, including in-app chat and WhatsApp integration, alongside the rollout of physical Customer Hubs across the country. The aim is to combine the speed and convenience of digital banking with accessible human support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe more digital the world becomes, the more human your bank needs to be. That\u2019s the standard we\u2019re setting for ourselves as we continue to grow,\u201d says GoTyme Bank CEO Cheslyn Jacobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Payments are just one of the clearest examples of that customer-value philosophy in practice. The number of customers using PayShap has increased by more than 250% year on year, while approximately 70% of payments made by GoTyme customers are now instant and free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In another indication of the bank\u2019s growing influence, 26% of all PayShap cellphone payments in South Africa originate from GoTyme Bank accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The financial benefit is substantial. By removing fees on qualifying instant payments, GoTyme Bank estimates that customers are avoiding more than R150 million in banking fees annually. The figures form part of the bank\u2019s 2026 performance update, unveiled at its GoTyme. GoHuman. GoForward. media briefing in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jacobs believes these developments point to a fundamental change in customer behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing South Africans move beyond the idea that instant payments are a premium banking feature. For our customers, they\u2019re increasingly becoming the normal way to pay,\u201d says Jacobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen nearly 70% of payments made by your customers are instant and free, and one in four PayShap cellphone payments nationally originates from your accounts, you\u2019re seeing more than adoption. You\u2019re seeing a change in how people expect banking to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n