Tyme, a Singapore-based digital banking group, raised $77.8M in Series C funding.
The round saw participation from Norrsken22 and Blue Earth Capital, as well as existing backer Tencent.
The company intends to use the funds to further operations in South Africa and the Philippines as well as for future expansion in Southeast Asia.
Led by CEO Coen Jonker, Tyme is a multi-country digital banking group, focused on bridging the digital divide in emerging markets, by integrating into physical retail ecosystems. The company designs, builds, and commercializes digital banks for the mass market, with a particular expertise in serving under-served and under-banked populations. By recognizing the challenges of digital banking in emerging markets, the company builds financial education, approach, and efficient cash management solutions for them.
TymeBank, a member of the Tyme Group of companies with headquarters in Singapore, was the first bank in South Africa to be operated fully off a cloud-based infrastructure network, and now makes it possible to open a fully regulated bank account in less than five minutes, which can be done online or from a TymeBank kiosk. It also takes a few seconds to send money to any cellphone in South Africa using the SendMoney app. TymeBank’s hybrid model of digital banking and physical service has made banking accessible to South Africans across the economic spectrum. The bank has established partnerships with national retailers Pick n Pay and Boxer, fashion retailer TFG (The Foschini Group), as well as the largest church in South Africa, the Zion Christian Church. In 2022, TymeBank acquired Retail Capital, which has already provided more than 43 000 business owners in South Africa with over R5.5 billion in working capital.
In addition, GoTyme in the Philippines launched in October 2022 in partnership with the Gokongwei Group.
TymeBank now serves over 7 million customers since its launch in February 2019 – with a current acquisition rate of 200,000 customers per month and a 70% 30-day account activity rate. It is majority owned by Dr Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital. Other investors include Tencent, British International Investment, Apis Growth Fund II, JG Summit Holdings, African Fig Tree (AFT), and the Ethos AI Fund.
The company, which has offices in Hong Kong and Ho Chi Min City, completed its Series B in December 2021. Led by existing shareholders, the capital raise brought in a total of $180M. Work continues with interested investors, with Series C expected to close later in the year. African Rainbow Capital (ARC) remains Tyme’s majority shareholder.
FinSMEs
23/05/2023