VIDEO: GoTyme Bank: New name, R100m staff deal, big ambitions

The bank previously known as TymeBank – now GoTyme Bank – has set a target of reaching 210 million global customers through its parent company.

Tyme Group, GoTyme Bank’s parent company, now serves more than 21 million customers globally, including 13 million in South Africa.

During the launch of its new brand last night, CEO Cheslyn Jacobs quipped that he would like to put a “zero” on the end of the figure 13, which would boost its local base to 130 million, or roughly double South Africa’s population.

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What is now GoTyme Bank launched in 2019 and was South Africa’s first fully digital bank. Tyme Group reached unicorn status towards the end of 2024, when it was valued at $1.5 billion (around R26.7 billion at the time) following raising $250 million in capital. Brazil’s Nubank invested $150 million and now holds a 10% stake.

“At the end of 2024, we also became the first digital bank on the African continent to reach profitability and also the first stand-alone digital bank to reach profitability globally. There are many, many banks globally that have done it quicker than us. But not as a stand-alone entity, as an entity within a bigger organisation,” said Jacobs.

Jacobs said the bank has the ambition to be the “most-loved bank” in SA by 2030. “Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if none of you would be prepared to lift up your hand if I say that you think about your bank and the emotion and the sensation you experience is love. This is exactly why this ambition excites us that much.”

More than one million South Africans have downloaded and migrated to the new GoTyme Bank app, including over 200 000 existing customers who had not used the previous version at all. Nearly 30 customer hubs are operating in retail centres across the country, with plans to grow that number to around 100.

“We are going to do something everybody thinks is impossible. And how we’re going to do that is through the people we have in our business, who come, who rock up every single day consistently, and pour their heart and soul into the business we know as GoTyme Bank today,” said Jacobs.

During the event, Jacobs announced an empowerment deal that will see all its employees become shareholders. The stake is “material”, worth around R100 million and benefits around 1 800 employees.

“We have decided to allow every single qualifying staff member of GoTyme Bank to participate in the business as owners.”

Noting that the shares fully vest in three years, Jacobs added: “It’s not a one-time issue either. What is important is that this business is in a hyper growth phase.

Home-grown GoTyme would consider geographic expansion, Jacobs told ITWeb. He pointed to parent company Tyme Group’s product development hub in Vietnam, its operations in Philippines, Hong Kong and Indonesia, as well as global headquarters in Singapore.

Jacobs pointed out that Indonesia has a population of 250 million, which would enable the company’s growth should it open a bank there. Additional countries where he believes it could capture a large share of the market include Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Vietnam.

“These are countries with a large, large population… I think the world offers us those kinds of possibilities.”

Jacobs also spoke about the evolving nature of banks. “We are now starting to see, in SA specifically, digital-first banks serving more and more customers every single day,” which he says is an indication of the shift in how people choose where to bank.

“I often say just look back when you were making the decision on who to bank with; you probably didn’t make it to be quite honest. You simply followed the lead of your parents. Good luck convincing your child what to do today.”

Customers are no longer “blindly loyal to one bank”, said Jacobs, with increasing numbers becoming multi-banked and selecting certain banks for various needs, not only locally, but across the world. “And the fact that customers are behaving in that way, we now believe, changes everything.”