TymeBank’s GoTyme shows strong growth – but at a cost

GoTyme, a joint venture between TymeBank and members of the Gokongwei Group, has suffered a loss of R824 million over the last year.

GoTyme is a Filipino direct bank launched on 20 October 2022. This followed a year after the Philippines Central Bank approved its digital banking licence.

At the time, TymeBank said GoTyme would benefit from its high-touch, high-tech banking model and world-class technology.

It added that its unique kiosks and digital banking expertise would simplify banking and empower Filipino consumers.

TymeBank and Tyme are majority-owned by Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital, which has a strong foothold in financial services.

“We are proud of TymeBank’s South African roots and look forward to sharing our knowledge with our international partners at GOtyme in the Philippines,” Motsepe said in 2021.

GOTyme’s other large shareholder, the Gokongwei Group, is one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines and has exposure to multiple industries.

The bank generated revenue of R5.12 million in the first three months since its launch. This translates into monthly revenue of around R1.7 million.

If the three months were extrapolated to a 12-month period, GoTyme generated a 12-month equivalent of R20.5 million in the 2022 financial year. 

GoTyme recognised a significant loss for the 2022 financial year of R303.9 million. This was expected, considering the big costs associated with starting a new bank.

GoTyme recently released its 2023 financial year results and experienced a significant increase in its revenue.

The company reported revenue of R88.95 million, increasing its monthly revenue to R7.4 million, four times higher than in 2022.

This revenue increase came on the back of a rapidly increasing subscriber base. GoTyme clients hit 2.3 million in January 2024.

Profits, however, moved in the wrong direction. The company losses increased from R303.9 million in 2022 to R824 million in 2023.

The latest numbers show that GoTyme’s subscriber and revenue growth came at the cost of increased losses.

It remains to be seen whether the bank can cut its costs or generate greater income from its customer base going forward.