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SA's new bank takes paperless banking to the people

Johannesburg - South Africa's newest bank, TymeDigital by Commonwealth Bank SA, said it will live and die by the experiences of its customers.

Bank CEO Sandile Shabalala said TymeDigital would offer South Africans a total new way of banking, making banking accessible, convenient and affordable.

The bank is scheduled to market its first banking product to the public by the middle of 2018 and will not have specific branches, rather using kiosks in shops as its customers contact points. 

The secret of the new bank is its sophisticated fintech kiosks that will be available in retailers, creating a paperless environment for South Africans. He believes in time South Africans will come to love the country's new bank.

Shabalala, who previously managed Nedbank's business banking division, said the bank will also create a new platform for South Africans to access banking services, but that it will also attract old bank clients with its new approach to banking. 

He said Thursday was a key milestone in its plans to launch a full service digital bank and disrupt banking in South Africa. 

"We will offer South Africans the ability to open accounts and transact securely, within minutes. Through our innovative technology and financial education we aim to get more people using banking services to enhance their lives and increase economic participation.”

Start base

TymeDigital has already secured more than 200 000 customers for the service and has just entered into a ten year strategic relationship with Pick n Pay (PnP).

Bank chair Coenraad Jonker said the most important thing about the new bank is customers experience, and making banking easy and quick. If the bank wanted to win the hearts and minds of South Africans, the ease with which customers interacted was crucial. He also said its success would be measured by its customer's perceptions in the first year. 

The bank's kiosks are the centre of its strategy to bring banking to the people, rather than making people go to banks, he said. 

"In the first place, there are no forms. Secondly, it is really quick to register, less than 10 minutes. We also never ask the same questions twice. And we bring the kiosks to you, when you shop."

At the same time TymeDigital will offer some of the most affordable banking fees in South Africa, Jonker promised.

"We can offer these competitive rates because we operate a low cost operating model. And we use data analytics to calculate risk profiles," he said. 

First new banking licence since 1999

The bank announced on Thursday that the South African Reserve Bank had issued the bank an operating licence, the first new licence since 1999, when Capitec entered the market.  

Billionaire Patrice Motsepe's African Rainbow Capital (ARC) is TymeDigital's strategic empowerment partner and holds 10% of the bank. 

Motsepe said the investment is an essential part of the recently listed ARC's plans to build an empowered, pan-African financial services group.“Supporting technology which can be used to provide access to financial services is one of the ways we plan to broaden and deepen financial inclusion in South Africa and other emerging markets.”

Jonker said TymeDigital wanted to offer competitively priced, accessible banking to its customers. He said the bank was just in the starting blocks and that a long journey awaited it. 

The bank is linking with an expanding network of partners, and already operates Money Transfer, in partnership with PnP and Boxer stores. 

PnP Deputy CEO Richard van Rensburg, said the retailer's partnership with TymeDigital is ideal because of the share commitment of giving customers better value and more convenient banking services. "We believe the market is ready for a new bank which will offer consumers better value and more competition.”

Commonwealth Bank 

The bank's international partner, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) bought a 100% stake in Tyme in 2015 in a deal that was reportedly worth R365m, and TymeDigital is part of CBA’s International Financial Services division. Tyme originated as part of a Deloitte Consulting project that was funded by MTN, but in June 2012, the venture was spun out and established as a stand-alone business. 

CBA Group CEO, Ian Narev, said he believed the bank had the opportunity to contribute to the financial wellbeing of South Africans, through a business model that uses the potential of new technologies to make life better for customers.

He also hoped that TymeDigital could become a source of broader research and development for CBA.

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