GOtyme, which is a joint initiative between Philippines-based conglomerate Gokongwei Group and Singapore’s virtual banking group Tyme, has reportedly acquired the fifth digital banking permit from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the nation’s central bank.
GOtyme is set to introduce its services during Q2 2022 and will be managed by Jojo Malolos as well as Nate Clarke, who’s one of Tyme’s founding members.
The new virtual banking platform will aim to offer secure and convenient onboarding via an app and digital kiosks that will be located throughout the mall and retail outlets owned by the Gokongwei group.
In February 2021, Tyme had finalized a $110 million Series B investment round that received contributions from Gokongwei Group in order to support the firm’s business expansion across the ASEAN region (beginning with the Philippines).
BSP had approved its virtual bank framework back in November of last year and has since issued four other digital bank licenses.
The other companies receiving licenses include the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFB) managed by the State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines, Tonik, UNObank, and the Union Bank of the Philippines (in July 2021).
The Filipino reserve bank has also issued a warning against certain entities that had allegedly been misrepresenting themselves as approved virtual banks (as part of their marketing campaigns).
It’s worth noting that PayMaya, the Fintech division of the digital and financial services firm Voyager Innovations, along with the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) have also revealed their plans of submitting applications to acquire a virtual bank license.
Jojo Malolos, President and CEO of GOtyme, stated:
“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. This distribution strategy will assist in the democratization of financial services, addressing the needs of all Filipinos regardless of age, income, or geography.”
Nate Clarke, co-CEO at GOtyme, remarked:
“In South Africa, 3 million of our 3. 5 million 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,”