The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has issued a licence to TymeDigital (by Commonwealth Bank SA) – the first SARB licence to be issued to a new bank since 1999. TymeDigital is part of Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) international financial services division, following CBA’s 2015 acquisition of FinTech company Tyme (take your money everywhere).
The bank, backed in part by Patrice Motsepe's (pictured) African Rainbow Capital, which holds 10 percent in it, has said it believes there is space in the market to serve emerging middle class consumers, as well as under-served small and micro businesses.
According to Sandile Shabalala, CEO of TymeDigital, the institution will offer a full-service digital bank to users. The bank will allegedly not have brick and mortar branches but rather, points of presence in partnership with Pick n Pay.
The bank hopes to be operational by the second quarter of 2018, although it will engage with customers as early as November, when it begins a trial phase.
