SOUTH AFRICA – TymeBank, a digital retail bank, has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with The Foschini Group (TFG), a leading retail giant.
The partnership will see the introduction of TymeBank financial products and services both instore and on digital platforms for the benefit of TFG’s more than 26 million customers in South Africa.
It should be noted that TymeBank currently has just over 3.8 million customers.
“TFG houses some of South Africa’s most popular and well-established consumer brands and is renowned for its retail strength and strong customer focus. We couldn’t be more excited with our strategic partnership as we look to expand our reach,” TymeBank chief executive Tauriq Keraan said.
“Furthermore, we are likely to diversify the current TymeBank customer profile as we further extend the benefits of affordable banking as well as a superior banking experience to the middle and upper-middle market segments.”
TFG customers will benefit from TymeBank’s ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ product MoreTyme, providing an alternative payment option which is interest-free over a three-month period.
“We are truly excited about this partnership with TymeBank, as they are recognised as one of the fastest growing digital banks globally,” TFG chief executive Anthony Thunström said.
“The bank has deep expertise in managing a digital ecosystem platform plus related products and services and I believe TFG’s customers will benefit from an enhanced shopping experience.”
Over 600 TFG/TymeBank branded kiosks will be located in TFG stores enabling customers to have direct and convenient access to highly affordable transactional banking and highly competitive savings rates. This will include the launch of a TFG/TymeBank branded debit card.
The kiosk, as well as the TymeBank app and other digital interfaces will give TFG customers access to services such as electricity payments, money transfer and savings products, thereby allowing customers to shop and transact at the same time.
This partnership will allow a full range of financial products and services to be developed, including an extended range of insurance products and term loan products which will be made available for TFG customers
MoreTyme will be rolled out first in Jet Stores in November, followed by a roll-out across all TFG stores during the course of 2022.
According to both companies, the new relationship was specifically developed to make purchases more affordable for consumers.
“MoreTyme makes it possible to purchase items from participating merchants but only pay half of the amount at the time of purchase and still take the item home on the same day. The balance of the purchase is payable over the following two months, interest-free,” a company statement said.
According to TymeBank, their partnership model with retailers has been an integral part of its strategy to acquire customers and drive usage.
The partnership is subject to regulatory approvals where applicable.
