SA Digital Bank TymeBank Reaches 3-million Customer Milestone

South African digital bank TymeBank launched a mere two years ago has reached a three million customer milestone, heralding the title of ‘one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banks’. TymeBank became the first bank in South Africa to be fully operated off a cloud-based infrastructure network and the first to be granted a commercial banking license in almost 20 years.

Tauriq Keraan, CEO of TymeBanks comments on the milestone achieved.  

“Financial institutions need to be responsive to consumer preferences. Banking customers are sensitive to costs impacting adversely on their financial health, particularly in these tough times. They also want to know exactly what they’re paying for and TymeBank’s simple, transparent, affordable banking offering is giving our 3 million customers what they want and need.”

This announcement follows on from the digital bank securing R1.6-billion from a number of undisclosed global investors (see this story).

TymeBank

Launching in 2019, TymeBank is the first bank in the country to be operated fully off a cloud-based infrastructure network. The fintech company is a member of the Tyme group of companies. With an aim to provide financial services to the underbanked individuals in South Africa, the digital bank offers a transactional bank account with no monthly fees and an immediate access savings product with a competitive interest rate. 

With no monthly banking fees, transaction costs 30% – 50% lower than other banks, TymeBank is offering a much-needed service to all South Africans including lower to middle-income bracket individuals. According to a report issued by TymeBank, the bank is onboarding between 100 000 and 120 000 new customers each month. 

With a digital interface at its core, TymeBank has no physical branches and its platform is securely hosted in the Cloud. 

“In addition, customers earn up to 8% with our GoalSave product, which is the highest interest rate they can earn with immediate access to their savings and without any penalties. We may not look and act like a traditional bank, but the fact that we are fully regulated is important to give our 3 million customers peace of mind. In line with satisfying customer needs and living up to the promise of a great banking experience, over the last year we have added an average of four new features monthly to our customer interfaces, including extending our app availability, upgrading our website, and enabling e-commerce locally and internationally to cater for customer behavior during COVID-19,” adds Keraan.

TymeBank has attributed its success to its partnership with Pick ‘n Pay, where individuals are able to sign up at the kiosk fitted n-store and deposit or withdraw money at more than 14 000 Pick ‘n Pay and Boxer points across South Africa. 

“TymeBank’s hybrid model of digital banking and physical service points is what sets us apart. In a country where banking fees and data costs are high and the levels of digital and financial literacy are low, we have re-imagined digital banking to make it accessible to all South Africans across the economic spectrum. While our technology allows for exponential customer growth, our priority is to broaden our offering to include innovative credit and insurance products plus a variety of value-added services. We want to continue broadening access to banking for the benefit of the country’s consumers,” Keraan concluded.