South African challenger bank Tyme completes $180m Series B with Tencent investment
Challenger bank Tyme has completed a $180 million Series B capital raise, following an additional $70 million investment from Chinese tech giant Tencent and UK development finance institution CDC.
Tyme closes $180m Series B funding round
The South African bank intends to use the capital to fund its domestic expansion, enter the countries where CDC has a presence, and to support GOTyme in the Philippines, where it has secured a digital bank licence in partnership with Filipino conglomerate Gokongwei Group.
Tyme now also has a product development and engineering hub in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Tyme kicked off its Series B earlier this year when it secured $110 million from Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners, and Gokongwei’s JG Summit Holdings.
Tyme claims to have acquired four million customers in 32 months and its hybrid model of digital banking and branches has made banking accessible to South Africans whatever their wealth status.
Most new Tyme accounts are opened in physical locations, it says, but the bank has seen a substantial uptick in the number of accounts opened online and a shift from cash deposits to electronic transfers.
Its co-founder Coen Jonker says the investment is a clear vote of confidence in Tyme’s digital banking offering.
