TymeBank is positioning itself to become a preferred lender for cash-strapped small and medium enterprises (SME) as it pushes to build its credit portfolio.
The digital-only bank, started six years ago by billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital, has 12-million clients and was among the first banking disruptors offering low-cost transactional services mainly focused on the mass market segment.
Speaking to Business Times this week, CEO designate Cheslyn Jacobs said there was a “massive opportunity” for growth in business banking in South Africa. “I think it has been well documented that small businesses are the lifeblood of the South African economy — and have to be in terms of job creation,” said Jacobs, who has been the COO since 2022, and succeeds Karl Westwig from January.
SMEs make up 91% of South Africa’s formalised businesses and employ roughly 60% of the country’s labour force.
And Jacobs does not think the financial industry has done enough to address the needs of SMEs. “We’re going to take on the responsibility of looking at how we best build that product that suits those businesses far and wide across the country.”
He said TymeBank had recorded an impressive profit on the back of customer support. “The last quarter [from July to September] has been the most successful quarter; it has been our most profitable because our customers are supporting us in the way that they do.
If you do the math, you can see who has been growing faster. They built an amazing business, the industry has done a lot of good work, and they keep us on our toes, so we have to have our wits about us
— Cheslyn Jacobs, TymeBank CEO designate
“I take over on January 1. What I’m hoping for in early July is to share with the world that we’ve had the most successful financial year in the history of the business,” he said.
The new CEO believes there’s still room for growth despite the stiff competition in the banking and fintech space, and TymeBank sees still more room for customer growth.
He said their growth had been impressive, given that Capitec — the leading bank by customer numbers — has been around for 24 years, while they are only six years old.
“If you do the math, you can see who has been growing faster. They built an amazing business, the industry has done a lot of good work, and they keep us on our toes, so we have to have our wits about us.”
Jacobs said improving customer experience will be a priority for the year ahead. “We think the most important thing going forward will be customer experience, and how much a customer enjoys interacting with us. That is where we are spending a lot of our time, and making a lot of investment behind the scenes to make sure what we’re building is a very unique customer experience.”
TymeBank, which has expanded into the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, plans to rebrand and change its name to GoTyme in the first half of 2026.
“We think there’s real power in unifying what we’re known for around the world. Even though the markets we operate in are very different with their own subtleties and nuances, we believe the rebrand is the first step in getting that right. And the reality is, as our country continues to grow, as our people continue to prosper, we will start seeing TymeBank in multiple places around the world — but will look and feel as the same thing.”
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