TYME GROUP has received a $250-million investment from a group of companies led by Brazilian bank Nubank (Nu), which will help support its expansion into Asia, including GoTyme Bank..
“Nubank will own 10% of shares in Tyme Group. The total amount raised is $250 million, which is actually the biggest fintech raise in Southeast Asia this year,” GoTyme Bank President and CEO Nathaniel D. Clarke told. BusinessWorld in an interview last week.
“A lot of that funding will help us grow here and make us profitable… Now we have the power to realize that vision of being the largest daily retail bank here,” said Mr. Clarke.
GoTyme Bank is a joint venture between Gokongwei Group, which owns 60% of the shares, and Singapore-based Tyme Group, which owns 40%. Tyme Group also operates TymeX in Vietnam, India and China and digital bank TymeBank in South Africa.
“Nu’s investment in Tyme Group will benefit GoTyme Bank Philippines and TymeBank South Africa, bringing not only capital to support growth but also expertise in debt settlement and product development,” GoTyme Bank said in a statement.
“We are excited to partner with Nubank, the global leader in digital banking, as we believe this partnership will enhance GoTyme Bank in the Philippines and accelerate Tyme Group’s growth and expansion in multiple markets,” JG Summit Holdings, Inc. President. and Chief Executive Officer Lance Y. Gokongwei said.
The latest round of investment brings Tyme Group to unicorn status as it now has a total value of 1.5 billion dollars.
Tyme’s most heavily subscribed Series D fundraising was led by Nu, which invested $150 million, while M&G’s Catalyst Fund subscribed $50 million. Existing shareholders, including Gokongwei Group, Tencent, British international Investment, Norrsken 22, Blue Earth, Lavender Hill, Ethos Fund, and Africa Fig Tree (Founders and Employees), are investing an additional $50 million,” added GoTyme Bank.
“Nubank has revolutionized financial services, and having them as shareholders will help accelerate the development of our skills, practice, and expansion plans in Southeast Asia, through their investment in finance and advice. This is a very important time for Tyme Group,” said Coen Jonker. , founder and CEO of Tyme Group.
David Vélez, Nu’s founder and CEO, said their investment in Tyme Group is in line with their belief that the future of financial services around the world lies in traditional digital companies.
“We have met with a number of groups in different areas, and we think that Tyme Group is in a good position to be one of the leaders of digital banking in Africa and Southeast Asia. We are excited to partner with Tyme to share the many lessons learned from scaling this model to hundreds of millions of customers,” he added,
CREDIT TECHNOLOGY
The partnership between Tyme and Nu will bring additional resources and technology to GoTyme Bank that will boost its growth, the digital bank said.
Mr. Clarke said in particular, Nubank will bring technology to credit cards.
“Actually, it’s how they are different from us. We started with the commercial, deposit, and savings side. They started with a credit card and later got a banking license. Therefore, they are born with a lot of debt,” he said. “Therefore, they will be helping us, advising us, possibly helping us with a loan.”
“They are very happy with our model. They believe that digital banks around the world will be the winners in everyday banking. But they have decided that they do not have the energy to go to the other side of the world. Therefore, they will naturally focus on the Americas. But they feel that there is good investment and cooperation to invest in Asia,” said Mr. Clarke.
Nu also brings a focus on long-term and sustainable growth, he added, prioritizing customer acquisition and achieving quality.
GoTyme Bank is one of six digital lenders licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Others are Tonik Digital Bank, Inc.; Bank of Maya; Overseas Filipino Bank; No bank; and UnionDigital Bank. – Aaron Michael C. Sy
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