JOHANNESBURG – The newly appointed chief executive of TymeBank, Tauriq Keraan, said on Wednesday that he was confident the fledgling bank would hit the 1 million customer mark before the end of the year as the bank readied itself to launch its unsecured loan product in the first half of next year.
Keraan said the bank was attracting 110 000 new customers on a monthly basis since going live as the country’s first fully digital bank in February with its customer base now at 600 000.
“We do not have a mentality of growth at all costs. Our first obligation is to look after our customers and ensure we fulfil their financial needs and ensure financial inclusion.
"My appointment does not in any way mark a change in strategy,” Keraan said. “In fact, in my previous role as deputy chief executive I was responsible for strategy. Our acute focus is executing against the strategy we already have in place.”
He said the bank was piloting its loan proposition and expected the product to be available in the market in the first six months of 2020.
“Because we are a digital bank, we have a good sense of customers' creditworthiness ahead of time and we will use data available to us to ensure that we lend responsibly and to the right people.”
Sandile Shabalala resigned as TymeBank’s chief executive in June citing personal reasons and the need to spend more time with his family.
The bank in June also appointed former Nedbank’s chief governance and compliance officer and company secretary, Thabani Jali, as chairperson, while former Nedbank chief executive, Tom Boardman, was appointed as deputy chairperson. Philip Wessels, who ran Nedbank’s retail and business banking, was also appointed as independent non-executive director.
Jali said the appointment of Keraan would ensure continuity in the business.
“He is a seasoned executive who will continue to build TymeBank in its efforts to deliver affordable and accessible banking to our customers. Under Tauriq’s leadership, management will continue implementing the bank’s existing strategy,” Jali said.
TymeBank’s target is to acquire 2 million customers over a three-year period. The bank, which was previously referred to as TymeDigital, was majority-owned by Commonwealth Bank Group before Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital took a controlling stake in the bank