TymeBank has signed its 250 000th customer. Having launched with one kiosk in November 2018, the bank opened up to the public with just over 500 kiosks at the end of February 2019.
Twenty-six percent of the bank’s first quarter of a million customers are between the ages of 36 and 45, and 14% are aged 46 to 55.
“We’re delighted to see how many of our customers are above the age of 36, as we believe that these are people who already have an existing bank account, who see the value we offer and have taken the decision to give us a shot,” says TymeBank’s CEO Sandile Shabalala.
“Furthermore, 78% of our customers have opened their accounts at a kiosk inside a Pick n Pay or Boxer store, with 22% having done so on our website. We are really encouraged that we’re appealing to a broad range of South African consumers, those who are digitally savvy enough to open an account online and those who feel more comfortable with a physical touchpoint,” Shabalala adds.
Customers are using the bank’s EveryDay transactional features as well as its savings tool, GoalSave. “We offer a transactional account with no monthly fees and the lowest bank fees in the market, at 50% less than our nearest competitor,” Shabalala says. “Our GoalSave tool earns customers 9% per annum interest after three months, with a bonus that can take customers interest rates up to 10%. We can clearly see that our affordability, convenience and attractive interest rates on savings are resonating with South Africans.”
Among TymeBank’s current network of 624 active kiosks, those in Gauteng are leading with 34% of accounts opened; KwaZuluNatal comes in second at 16% and the Western Cape third with 8%.
“For our launch we concentrated on the Gauteng region which is showing in our data. The best performing stores are at the Quagga Centre’s Pick n Pay in Pretoria and Boxer stores in Thembisa, Lenasia, Alexandra and Noordstreet,” says Shabalala. “As we continue to roll out more stores across the country in both urban, peri-urban and rural areas we can expect this distribution to change.”