TymeBank raking in deposits

The total deposits made to TymeBank in the final six months of 2024 increased by R600 million, with the lender’s customer base reaching 10.7 million by the end of the period.

This is according to the African Rainbow Capital Investments (ARCI) unaudited half-year financial report, for the period ending 31 December.

ARCI currently holds a 15.9% share in TymeBank, just over 10 percentage points less than it did at the end of June 2024, which it says has a total intrinsic value of R2.257 billion.

Based on this estimate from ARCI, TymeBank is valued at R14.2 billion.

Overall, the ARC Group owns 42.3% of TymeBank.

The financial report noted that TymeBank’s total deposits increased from R6.3 billion in June last year to R6.9 billion by the end of the period.

Similarly, its credit offering also grew, with net advances increasing by R400 million to R2.3 billion over the six months.

TymeBank reported in October last year that it had reached the 10 million customer mark, meaning that the lender’s clients increased by 700,000 in the final three months of the year.

ARCI said the bank is “making rapid progress” toward monthly profitability while investing in long-term strategic initiatives such as AI and advanced data analytics.

“While these investments may create some short-term pressure on profitability, they are critical to strengthening the bank’s competitive position and ensuring sustained growth over the long term,” ARCI said.

TymeBank broke even for the first time in December 2023, less than five years since launching in February 2019, which it claims is a first for a digital bank in South Africa and Africa as a whole.

“Among our most significant achievements has been getting the business to break even, arguably in record time,” TymeBank CEO, Karl Westvig said in October last year.

“We did this while serving the poorest in our communities, a feat that has the potential to change what banks worldwide can do to provide access to customers across the economic spectrum.”

In the future, the bank hopes to fine-tune its customer service experience and start attracting more affluent customer segments.