TymeBank, a rapidly expanding digital bank, revealed today that it has reached a milestone of eight million customers as of October 6, 2023. This achievement signifies that one out of every five eligible South Africans now holds an account with TymeBank, solidifying its position as one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banks.
“We are immensely proud of the fact that we have acquired eight million customers since launching in February 2019,” says TymeBank CEO Coen Jonker says.
“Our 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. This pace of growth also brings us closer to our ambition of becoming one of the top three retail banks in the country.”
TymeBank’s pace of customer acquisition remains on a rapid incline, with over 200,000 new customers registering every month. Additionally, the bank boasts an impressive 70% account activity rate over a rolling 30-day period, reflecting its strong engagement with users.
“What is particularly pleasing is the fact that the last million customers were acquired in record time – just under five months, despite ongoing challenges,” says Jonker.
“Our success can also be attributed to our tried-and-tested ‘phygital’ model, which seamlessly integrates the convenience of digital banking into physical retail ecosystems, while the strength of our partnerships with leading retailers such as Pick n Pay, Boxer and more recently TFG, allows us to optimise our distribution network.”
TymeBank’s acquisition of Retail Capital, the largest SME funder of its kind in the sector, is also yielding good results. The bank now funds over 50,000 businesses with ~R9.5 billion of working capital; its funding portfolio has grown by 20% since the Retail Capital business was acquired in December last year.
Further proving the success of TymeBank’s formula is GoTyme Bank in the Philippines, which is currently growing at the same pace (200,000 customers per month) as its sister bank in South Africa. Launched in October 2022, GoTyme Bank reached the 1-million customer mark in August this year.