Bringing forth a new era in financial inclusivity, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has approved GOtyme’s application to operate a digital bank, making it the latest entity to secure the go ahead from the regulator as it prepares to make financial services accessible to all Filipino consumers. This latest addition of GOtyme in the roster of companies given the clearance to run a digital bank exemplifies BSP’s commitment to achieve its goal to bring 70% of Filipino adults into the banked population and have 50% of payments done online by 2023.
GOtyme is a partnership between the Gokongwei Group, one of the biggest conglomerates in the Philippines, and the Singapore-headquartered digital banking group Tyme. This venture combines the trusted Gokongwei brand, reputation, and multi-industry operations with Tyme’s globally proven digital banking technology and hands on experience to add an exciting new player to the Philippines’ banking community.
“GOtyme will leverage the Gokongwei Group’s extensive eco-system that is highly integrated into the daily lives of Filipinos — where they already shop, eat and spend family time,” said Jojo Malolos, President & CEO of GOtyme. “This distribution strategy will assist in the democratization of financial services, addressing the needs of all Filipinos regardless of age, income, or geography.” Malolos will lead GOtyme, together with Nate Clarke, one of Tyme’s founding team members.
The newest digital banking player will provide secure and easy onboarding through both an app and digital kiosks conveniently located throughout the mall and retail footprint of the Gokongwei group. “In South Africa, 3m of our 3.5m customers joined TymeBank through our digital kiosks deployed in retail environments. We believe the combination of this technology and the Gokongwei Group’s nationwide retail footprint provides GOtyme a clear path to rapid growth,” stated Nate Clarke, GOtyme’s co-CEO. GOtyme is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2022.
“GOtyme will bring about better financial inclusion for a greater majority of the Filipinos from day one. We see our model of digital banking, with onboarding and education in retail networks and a well-designed app for transacting, as the best way to provide greater financial empowerment to our customers. What Cebu Pacific has done for travel is what we plan for GOtyme to deliver in financial services,” said Lance Y. Gokongwei, President and Chief Executive Officer of JG Summit Holdings, Inc., one of the holding firm in the Gokongwei Group of companies.
Coen Jonker, Executive Chairman of Tyme, expressed his support: “The Philippines is Tyme’s first expansion into Asia. With TymeBank’s over 3.5 million customers since its launch in February 2019 and highest Net Promoter Score among banks in South Africa, Tyme has a strong model and hard-won lessons to bring to the Philippines. We are grateful for the trust shown by BSP in our license application. We look forward to getting to know and serving the people of the Philippines as we launch GOtyme.”
