TymeBank

What TymeBank does

TymeBank, now rebranding to GoTyme Bank, is a South African digital bank headquartered in Johannesburg (with a Cape Town office) that serves retail consumers and small merchants through a hybrid model combining a mobile app and USSD feature-phone banking with physical kiosks inside retail stores. The bank holds Financial Services Provider (FSP 49140) and credit-provider (NCRCP 10774) registrations and is supervised by the South African Reserve Bank's Prudential Authority, with deposits insured up to R100,000 per depositor. The product set is anchored on a free Current Account and extends through GoalSave savings, Fixed Deposits, Personal Loans, GrantAdvance (advance on SASSA grant payments), MoreTyme buy-now-pay-later, virtual cards, Apple Pay, USSD, DebiCheck authenticated debit orders, Tills cash-in/out, and Send Money Vouchers. Kiosks also enable Department of Home Affairs smart-ID and passport services, providing a government-service anchor for footfall. Strategic partners include Nubank (lead Series D investor), Sanlam (co-branded fintech super app), and Kazang (merchant working-capital advances via POS data). The bank serves over 15 million customers across South Africa and the Philippines, with stated expansion plans into Vietnam and Indonesia and a targeted NYSE/JSE dual listing by 2028.

Name

TymeBank

Legal name

GoTyme Bank Limited

Website

https://tymebank.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

TymeBank (rebranding to GoTyme Bank) is a South African digital bank offering free current accounts, savings, loans, BNPL, and Apple Pay to over 15 million retail and small-merchant customers across South Africa and the Philippines via a hybrid mobile-app, USSD, and retail-kiosk model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Banking

NAICS

Commercial Banking (52211)

SIC

State Commercial Banks (6022)

akta.pro primary industry

Underbanked/Financial Inclusion Neobanks (FSABAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mass-Market Consumer Deposit Banking (Checking/Savings) (FSABAAAA)

Keywords

• Retail banking services
• Digital banking platform
• Mobile banking app
• Savings accounts
• Personal loans

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Transaction and Banking Fees: Core banking revenue from transaction fees, account maintenance, and card-related services from retail and business customers.
2. Lending Products: Interest income from credit products including personal loans and GrantAdvance (salary advance).
3. Savings and Investment Products: GoalSave savings accounts and Fixed Deposit products generate fee income and spread income.
4. Merchant Services: Working capital advances to merchants through Kazang POS partnership, generating interest income.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

TymeBank (rebranding to GoTyme Bank) is a South African digital bank offering free current accounts, savings products (GoalSave, Fixed Deposit), credit (Personal Loans, GrantAdvance, MoreTyme BNPL), and instant payment services delivered through a mobile app complemented by physical kiosks in retail stores and Customer Hubs for in-person support. The bank targets unbanked and underbanked consumers across South Africa and the Philippines, with plans to expand into Vietnam and Indonesia.

Product overview

GoTyme Bank (formerly TymeBank) is a South African digital bank operating on a hybrid model that combines digital banking services with physical kiosks located in retail stores. The product portfolio centers on a Current Account as the primary transactional product, supplemented by savings and investment offerings (GoalSave, Fixed Deposit), payment services (Instant Payments, Send Money Vouchers, DebiCheck, USSD), digital wallets (Virtual Card, Apple Pay), and credit products (Personal Loans, GrantAdvance, MoreTyme BNPL). The bank serves over 15 million customers across South Africa, Philippines, and Vietnam, positioning itself as a global digital bank born in Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GoTyme Bank: Digital banking platform offering current accounts, savings, loans, and payment services
• GoalSave
• Fixed Deposit
• GoTyme Instant Payments
• MoreTyme
• GrantAdvance
• Personal Loans
• VAS

Products and services

• Current Account
• GoalSave
• Fixed Deposit
• Personal Loans
• GrantAdvance Advance on South African government grant payments providing early access to funds for grant recipients.
• MoreTyme Buy Now Pay Later service enabling customers to split purchases into installment payments.
• GoTyme Instant Payments Real-time payment service enabling customers to transfer money instantly between accounts.
• Apple Pay Mobile payment integration allowing customers to use their GoTyme Bank card on iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro for contactless NFC payments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Africa's first digital bank to achieve profitability (December 2023)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Kazang (Lesaka Technologies)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 27 November 2025Kazang partnered with TymeBank to provide working capital advances to licensed taverns and liquor outlets in South Africa. The fintech solution uses digital transaction data from Kazang POS devices to assess merchant affordability and disburses funds within 24 hours.
• SanlamflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 October 2025Sanlam partnered with TymeBank to build South Africa's first co-branded fintech super app that consolidates various financial services into a single digital platform. The collaboration aims to enhance financial inclusivity and digital innovation by merging TymeBank's digital expertise with Sanlam's financial experience.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Nubank: Nubank is Latin America's largest digital bank and led TymeBank's $250M Series D round. Both target underbanked consumers with mobile-first free banking, low-fee accounts, and credit products in emerging markets, making Nubank the most directly comparable strategic and operational peer.
• Capitec Bank: Capitec is South Africa's largest retail bank by customer count and pioneered the low-fee, mass-market banking model that TymeBank directly mimics. Both serve working-class South African consumers with simplified, affordable banking products via high-footprint physical plus digital channels.
• Discovery Bank: Discovery Bank is a South African digital-first bank bundled with Vitality health/insurance rewards. Comparable to TymeBank's Sanlam super-app strategy, both compete for digitally-engaged South African consumers seeking non-traditional banking value propositions.
• GCash (Mynt/Globe Fintech Innovations): GCash is the Philippines' leading e-wallet and digital financial services platform and a direct competitor within TymeBank's GoTyme Philippines operations. Both target unbanked Filipino consumers with mobile-first payments, savings, and credit offerings.

Broad incumbents

• First National Bank (FNB): FNB is one of South Africa's 'Big Four' banks and a leading digital innovator with its app and eBucks rewards ecosystem. As a broad incumbent with overlapping digital retail banking capabilities, it represents the primary competitive threat to TymeBank in the domestic market.
• Standard Bank: Standard Bank is Africa's largest bank by assets with an extensive digital platform serving retail and SME customers. It competes head-on with TymeBank in South African retail deposits and increasingly in digital onboarding and lending products.
• Absa Bank South Africa: Absa is a major South African retail and commercial bank with growing digital capabilities. It operates in the same deposit, payments, and personal lending categories where TymeBank competes and is investing in digital offerings to defend share.
• M-Pesa (Vodacom / Safaricom): M-Pesa is the dominant mobile money platform across Africa and a competing model for serving unbanked populations. While M-Pesa is primarily a wallet/agent network rather than a fully licensed bank, it defines the financial-inclusion segment in which TymeBank operates across South and East Africa.

Emerging players

• Kuda Bank: Kuda is a Nigerian digital-first neobank serving underbanked consumers with free banking, savings, and credit. It is directly comparable to TymeBank on the Africa financial-inclusion neobank thesis, though at smaller scale and earlier stage.
• Carbon (formerly Paylater): Carbon is a Nigerian digital lending and consumer finance platform with operations in expansion markets. It overlaps with TymeBank's emerging-market digital lending, BNPL, and small-merchant working-capital offerings, particularly the GrantAdvance and MoreTyme credit features.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tymebankza
• Facebookfacebook.com/tymebankza
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tymebank
• Instagraminstagram.com/GoTymeBank
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@GoTymeBank

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TymeBank