SOUTH African digital banking group Tyme Bank has announced Tuesday that it will proceed with the acquisition of fintech firm Retail Capital, which provides award-winning funding services to SMEs in the country.
The acquisition, which is still subject to regulatory approvals, would see Retail Capital become a division of TymeBank and the foundation of the bank’s expanded business banking offering.
According to the announcement, the deal would see Retail Capital’s funding expertise and TymeBank’s deposit base and operations combined to serve a broader customer base, tech news portal IT News Africa reported.
TymeBank believes being able to channel funding efficiently to business owners in South Africa is critical to the expansion of the historically underserved small business sector.
‘This acquisition will enable TymeBank to expand its offering to entrepreneurs to include working capital finance. Retail Capital has acquired significant risk management experience over the past decade and through different economic cycles,’ says TymeBank CEO Coen Jonker.
‘Together, we look forward to providing access to innovative solutions to ensure business owners can fuel their growth, drive job creation and contribute to the broader economy,’ Jonker added.
TymeBank’s current Business Banking offering, which already has more than 100,000 customers, includes a transactional business account that can be opened in under five minutes, zero monthly bank fees, free debit card and online purchase transactions and free bulk payments, among other benefits.
Retail Capital lowers the barriers to funding for SMEs through an easy, three-step online application process. In the last 10 years, Retail Capital has already provided more than 43,000 business owners in South Africa with over $329 million in working capital, making it the largest SME funder of its kind in the sector.
Tyme Group says that its multi-country digital banking presence will also enable Retail Capital’s international expansion into other markets.
‘Retail Capital has a long history of supporting SMEs by enabling them to access affordable funding that helps their businesses grow. Now, through this acquisition by TymeBank, we will be able to scale the offering, giving SMEs the opportunity to expand through funding that works on their terms,’ says Retail Capital CEO Karl Westvig.
New SME offerings from Tyme Bank
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TymePOS
TymeBank’s business customers stand to benefit from the launch of a new offering, TymePOS, a mobile point-of-sale app that turns an NFC-enabled cellphone into a tap-and-go payment device.
The app is available for download on the Google Play Store, and it will take a TymeBank Business Banking customer just two minutes for app onboarding. Customers will then receive a merchant ID to start processing card payments within 24 hours.
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TymeTrybe
TymeTrybe is a financial community platform that equips business owners with a comprehensive range of business tools, accredited courses and other educational services as well as access to networking opportunities.
The TymeTrybe platform was designed by Tribe Fintech, a global fintech company and Tyme partner that has secured partnerships with several high-profile organisations, including global tech giant Meta, Wits Business School, BrownSense and SMEasy as contributors to the platform.
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Tyme Bank E-Commerce
Tyme Bank says that “an innovative web-based e-commerce app” is also in the pipeline that makes it easy for small merchants to sell their wares on Facebook and Instagram.
A delivery service will be included as part of the offering, aptly named ‘SellOnSocial’.
“The small business sector in this country is vital to economic development and job creation and deserves all the help it can get, particularly given the immense hardship of the last few years. We believe our revitalised business banking offering is what small business owners want, need and deserve,” said Jonker.
