CEO says the milestone reinforces its position as one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banks
10 October 2023 - 18:59
by Mudiwa Gavaza
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TymeBank has racked up more than 8- million customers since its launch in February 2019, the digital lender said on Tuesday.
The bank, which is backed by Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital (ARC) Investment, is now adding an average of 200,000 customers a month.
“What is particularly pleasing is the fact that the last million customers were acquired in record time — just under five months — despite ongoing challenges,” TymeBank CEO Coen Jonker said.
According to the bank, growth has been achieved despite ongoing outages at the department of home affairs, which hinders its ability to securely verify customers’ identities during the onboarding process.
Load-shedding has also had an impact on operations. Though TymeBank kiosks have battery backup, power outages affect the operation of stores and shopping centres, and intermittent power supply compromises the network operators the bank relies on for moving data.
The bank said its combination of physical channels, through the likes of Pick n Pay, Boxer and TFG, and its digital channels have helped to service customers.
The performance “reinforces our position as one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banks and a credible alternative to the legacy banks for South Africans”, Jonker said. “This pace of growth also brings us closer to our ambition of becoming one of the top three retail banks in the country.”
In addition, the bank has benefited from its recent acquisition of Retail Capital.
At the end of 2022, the bank received all the necessary regulatory approvals to conclude its acquisition of 100% of Retail Capital, a fintech company that provides funding to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The R1.5bn deal resulted in Retail Capital CEO Karl Westvig joining the Tyme Group’s executive committee as well as leading TymeBank’s business banking and lending offerings.
The bank now funds more than 50,000 businesses with about R9.5bn of working capital. This funding portfolio has grown by 20% since Retail Capital was acquired.
“We continue to see huge demand for our unique proposition that combines free banking and SA’s best savings rates,” said TymeBank chief commercial officer Cheslyn Jacobs.
“This has broadened our appeal among more affluent consumers, and we are now approaching R1bn in balances for our fixed deposit product.”
ARC Investment in its annual report published on Friday said it is considering further acquisitions in the financial services sector.
“In terms of the portfolio itself, the focus will be on more organic growth and extracting synergies from the ecosystem, getting those businesses that are not yet breaking even to start generating cash flows, continuing to reduce the tail of the portfolio and increasing the financial and fintech exposure, potentially through some bolt-on acquisitions,” the investment holding company said.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
TymeBank crosses 8-million customer mark
CEO says the milestone reinforces its position as one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banks
TymeBank has racked up more than 8- million customers since its launch in February 2019, the digital lender said on Tuesday.
The bank, which is backed by Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital (ARC) Investment, is now adding an average of 200,000 customers a month.
“What is particularly pleasing is the fact that the last million customers were acquired in record time — just under five months — despite ongoing challenges,” TymeBank CEO Coen Jonker said.
According to the bank, growth has been achieved despite ongoing outages at the department of home affairs, which hinders its ability to securely verify customers’ identities during the onboarding process.
Load-shedding has also had an impact on operations. Though TymeBank kiosks have battery backup, power outages affect the operation of stores and shopping centres, and intermittent power supply compromises the network operators the bank relies on for moving data.
The bank said its combination of physical channels, through the likes of Pick n Pay, Boxer and TFG, and its digital channels have helped to service customers.
The performance “reinforces our position as one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banks and a credible alternative to the legacy banks for South Africans”, Jonker said. “This pace of growth also brings us closer to our ambition of becoming one of the top three retail banks in the country.”
In addition, the bank has benefited from its recent acquisition of Retail Capital.
At the end of 2022, the bank received all the necessary regulatory approvals to conclude its acquisition of 100% of Retail Capital, a fintech company that provides funding to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The R1.5bn deal resulted in Retail Capital CEO Karl Westvig joining the Tyme Group’s executive committee as well as leading TymeBank’s business banking and lending offerings.
The bank now funds more than 50,000 businesses with about R9.5bn of working capital. This funding portfolio has grown by 20% since Retail Capital was acquired.
“We continue to see huge demand for our unique proposition that combines free banking and SA’s best savings rates,” said TymeBank chief commercial officer Cheslyn Jacobs.
“This has broadened our appeal among more affluent consumers, and we are now approaching R1bn in balances for our fixed deposit product.”
ARC Investment in its annual report published on Friday said it is considering further acquisitions in the financial services sector.
“In terms of the portfolio itself, the focus will be on more organic growth and extracting synergies from the ecosystem, getting those businesses that are not yet breaking even to start generating cash flows, continuing to reduce the tail of the portfolio and increasing the financial and fintech exposure, potentially through some bolt-on acquisitions,” the investment holding company said.
gavazam@businesslive.co.za
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