on the fringe
The new banking kids on the block you don’t know about
All attention has fixed on the three new entrants — Discovery, TymeBank and Bank Zero. But a number of other fledgling operators could also make a play for the big time at some stage
Now that the Reserve Bank has taken a more relaxed approach to approving new banks, the recent trio — Discovery Bank, TymeBank and Bank Zero — will not be the last. There is talk of an Outbank, from the Outsurance group, which would work off the considerable data the short-term insurer has collected. Like Discovery, Outsurance offers life, short-term and investment businesses. Logically, a bank should come next. Herman Bosman, head of Outsurance’s controlling shareholder, RMI, admits such a project is often discussed. He says it wouldn’t duplicate Discovery Bank, as Outsurance serves a much wider income base. But it isn’t imminent and will have to find a different name anyway, as Outbank is an established digital bank in Germany. As it is, the new banks will challenge some existing players that seem rather sleepy right now. The most old-fashioned of them all is Postbank. It still charges R12.60 for cash withdrawals at the counter, whereas TymeBank does not charge for withdrawals at ...
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