SINGAPORE-headquartered digital banking group Tyme Ltd. announced last Tuesday its joint venture with the Gokongwei Group called TymeBank has obtained a license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
In a statement dated August 17, Tyme said the BSP has approved operating banking application “GOTyme.”
The statement said the application “will leverage the Gokongwei Group’s extensive ecosystem that is highly integrated into the daily lives of Filipinos—where they already shop, eat and spend family time.”
Tyme said the application would be launched in the second quarter of 2022.
“This distribution strategy will assist in the democratization of financial services, addressing the needs of all Filipinos regardless of age, income or geography,” the statement quoted an official as saying.
The company secured $110 million in capital from the Apis Growth Fund II and the Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings Inc.
“The investment, which will be primarily deployed to grow TymeBank in South Africa, is one of the largest foreign investments any fintech company has secured in South Africa,” the company said last February.
According to Tyme, the digital banking application “will provide secure and easy onboarding through both an app and digital kiosks conveniently located throughout the mall and retail footprint of the Gokongwei group.”
According to Tyme Chief Product and Strategy Officer Nate Clarke, “In South Africa, three million of 3.5 million customers joined TymeBank through digital kiosks deployed in retail environments.
“We believe the combination of this technology and the Gokongwei Group’s nationwide retail footprint provides a clear path to rapid growth,” for “GOtyme,” Clarke added. The collaboration is Tyme’s first expansion into Asia.
“Tyme has a strong model and hard-won lessons to bring to the Philippines. We are grateful for the trust shown by BSP in our license application,” Founder Coen Jonker was quoted in the statement as saying. “We look forward to getting to know and serving the people of the Philippines as we launch GOtyme.”
According to their statement, GOTyme will provide onboarding through both an app and digital kiosks located throughout the mall and retail footprint of the Gokongwei group.
“We see our model of digital banking, with onboarding and education in retail networks and a well-designed app for transacting, as the best way to provide greater financial empowerment to our customers,” JG Summit Holdings President and CEO Lance Y. Gokongwei was quoted in the statement as saying. “What Cebu Pacific has done for travel is what we plan for GOtyme to deliver in financial services.”