Most digital banks try to win customers through app stores and ads. TymeBank, launched in South Africa in February 2019, went to the supermarket instead. It now has about 12 million customers in South Africa, according to TechCentral, and has just changed the strategy that got it there.
Move 1: Open accounts where people already queue
TymeBank put kiosks, staffed by banking ambassadors, inside Pick n Pay and Boxer stores. By March 2021 it had 700 of them and was adding 3,000 to 5,000 customers a day, ITWeb reported. By January 2024 Tyme counted more than 1,000 kiosks and 15,000 retail points. Customers could walk out of a grocery run with a bank account.
Move 2: Turn shop tills into branches
Cash still matters in South Africa. Instead of building branches, TymeBank let customers deposit and withdraw at more than 14,000 Pick n Pay and Boxer till points. The retailer's infrastructure became the bank's.
Move 3: Make the price easy to say
TymeBank charged no monthly fees and lower transaction fees than the big banks. Tyme says its cost structure is about 10% of incumbents', and in January 2024 called its South African unit the world's fastest profitable standalone digital bank. That is the company's own claim; it compared itself with Nubank, which took eight years to turn a profit, and Monzo, which took seven.
Move 4: Change the footprint when customers change
In December 2024 Nubank led a $250 million round in Tyme Group, putting in $150 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, Techparley reported. In February 2026 TymeBank became GoTyme Bank, and in March it began removing its Pick n Pay kiosks in favour of customer hubs in malls, while keeping kiosks in TFG and Boxer stores. "The footprint we needed when we launched seven years ago is not the same footprint we need today," said Nolwazi Nzama, its executive for customer experience and operations.
