GoTyme Bank: Bank overview

Is GoTyme Bank the same as TymeBank?

Yes. GoTyme Bank is the same licensed South African bank that traded as TymeBank, formally rebranded on 22 January 2026. The registered company, TymeBank Limited, its SARB banking licence, and customer account numbers and balances did not change — only the brand name, app and visual identity did. Customers on the old TymeBank app are being migrated in phases; GoTyme has confirmed the legacy app will be discontinued on 31 August 2026, so anyone still using it needs to download the new GoTyme Bank app before that date.

GoTyme is part of the multi-country Tyme Group, which also operates GoTyme-branded digital banks in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and Hong Kong, serving close to 20 million customers across those markets combined.

GoTyme Bank at a glance

What products does GoTyme Bank offer?

Current Account

GoTyme’s everyday transactional account has no monthly fee and comes with a free Visa debit card, available as both a physical card and a virtual card for tap-to-pay and online purchases. Local card purchases, bill payments, and international online/subscription purchases carry no fee and no foreign exchange markup.

GoalSave

GoalSave is a separate savings pocket linked to the Current Account. It pays 6% interest per year on any balance, with no minimum deposit, rising to 10% if the customer gives 10 days’ notice before a full withdrawal and has no prior partial-withdrawal history on that pocket. Customers can open up to 20 named GoalSave pockets, up to a combined R250,000. That 6% base rate compares favourably with the broader South African savings account market, where the average rate on a R100,000 balance sits closer to 5.7%.

Fixed Deposit

For savings above the GoalSave threshold, GoTyme offers a Fixed Deposit that locks funds for a term of 3 to 36 months, with interest paid at maturity — rates range from 7.75% on the shortest term up to 9.75% on the 36-month term.

MoreTyme (buy-now-pay-later)

MoreTyme splits an online or in-store purchase into 3 equal instalments, with the first due at checkout and the remaining two deducted over the following two months — interest-free and fee-free, subject to approval. It is not a credit product in the traditional sense and GoTyme does not currently offer a credit card in South Africa.

Personal Loans

GoTyme offers unsecured personal loans of up to R200,000 through a partnership with TFG Money. Applications are online and open to both GoTyme customers and non-customers; existing, active GoTyme app users may qualify for higher loan amounts.

Business Account

GoTyme Bank also offers a free business account, opened as a second account inside the same app used for personal banking. Beyond everyday transacting, GoTyme for Business runs an SME funding arm that has provided over R10 billion to more than 70,000 South African small businesses.

Who is GoTyme Bank best suited for?

GoTyme suits South Africans who want a genuinely free everyday account and are comfortable banking entirely through an app, with occasional in-person help at a retail kiosk or Customer Hub rather than a branch. It’s a strong fit for anyone prioritising a no-minimum-balance savings rate over branch access, and for the roughly 11 million unbanked or underbanked South Africans the bank was originally built to reach — opening an account needs only a South African ID and mobile number, no proof of income or address. It’s a weaker fit for customers who want a credit card, need frequent over-the-counter cash handling, or prefer face-to-face banking as their default channel.

How does GoTyme Bank protect customer accounts?

GoTyme uses two-factor authentication (2FA) to authorise all internet banking and app payments — even if someone obtains a customer’s banking details, they can’t complete a transaction without the OTP sent to the customer’s own phone. The app also supports biometric login via fingerprint or facial recognition, and sends a free push notification for every transaction, making it easy to spot anything unauthorised immediately.

Online purchases are protected by GoTyme’s virtual card, which isn’t tied directly to the physical card — it functions like a regular Visa card but lives entirely in the app, reducing exposure if a card number is compromised. GoTyme’s fraud contact centre operates 24/7 on 0860 999 119, and the bank explicitly states it will never ask a customer for their OTP, PIN or passcode.

GoTyme’s own guidance for customers adds four practical habits: use your own device (not a shared or public one) to open an account, only ever download the GoTyme Bank app from an official app store, update your PIN and passcode every 3 months, and never share your OTP, PIN or passcode with anyone — including someone claiming to call from GoTyme itself.

Who owns and backs GoTyme Bank?

GoTyme is part of the multi-country Tyme Group, and its South African operation has historically been backed by African Rainbow Capital (ARC), the investment vehicle linked to businessman Patrice Motsepe. GoTyme was the first fully new banking licence issued by the SARB since 1999, when the underlying entity secured its licence in 2017. GoTyme reported reaching profitability in December 2023, making it one of the small minority of digital banks worldwide — under 5% by some industry estimates — to have broken even.

As of its 2024 financials, GoTyme held total assets of R8.82 billion and total equity of R1.79 billion, though it posted a net loss of R330.11 million for the full 2024 financial year — a reminder that reaching one profitable month in December 2023 didn’t yet mean full-year profitability. Tyme Group, GoTyme’s parent, reached unicorn status in December 2024 after a $150 million investment from Brazilian digital bank Nubank as part of a $250 million funding round, valuing the group at $1.5 billion. GoTyme Bank was also named on TIME’s list of the 100 Most Influential Companies in 2025, external recognition of its digital banking model.

Is GoTyme Bank going public? Can I buy shares?

Not yet. GoTyme Bank and its parent, Tyme Group, are privately held — there’s no public listing today, and no shares available to buy through a stock exchange or brokerage account. That said, GoTyme Bank has publicly accelerated its IPO timeline, with leadership targeting a stock market listing within roughly 3 to 4 years, at a potential valuation as high as $15 billion. A Johannesburg Stock Exchange listing has been floated as one possibility, though nothing is confirmed. GoTyme Bank has also granted equity stakes to all 2,000 of its global employees as part of preparing for a future listing. Until an IPO actually happens, any offer to sell you “GoTyme Bank shares” outside of a recognised, regulated exchange should be treated with real caution.

How does GoTyme Bank compare to other South African digital banks?

South Africa now has several digital-first banking options, each built around a different trade-off. Here’s how GoTyme Bank’s core offering compares against Capitec, Discovery Bank and Bank Zero on the details that matter most, based on each bank’s own published pricing.

GoTyme Bank and Bank Zero are the only two in this group with a genuinely fee-free everyday account and no monthly charge at all — Discovery Bank’s entry-level Ðiscovery Account is also R0/month, but its fuller-featured Gold, Platinum, Black and Purple bundles carry paid monthly fees that can be reduced through its Vitality Money rewards programme. Capitec charges R7.50 a month on its Global One account, but remains the only one of the four with an extensive physical branch network, which matters for customers who regularly handle cash or want face-to-face service.

On savings, GoTyme’s GoalSave rate (6%, rising to 10% with notice) and its Fixed Deposit range (7.75% to 9.75% depending on term) are among the strongest headline savings rates of the group, though Capitec and Discovery Bank both offer competitive rates on their own dedicated savings products worth comparing directly for larger balances. GoTyme Bank has stated it now ranks #1 in South Africa across all five of its Fixed Deposit term categories (3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months); independent rate-comparison site ratecompare.co.za’s July 2026 ranking separately confirmed GoTyme’s 12-month rate of 8.75% as #1 in the country, ahead of Investec’s 8.33% 12-month rate — notably without Investec’s R100,000 minimum deposit requirement. Where GoTyme Bank is currently more limited is credit: it has no credit card product yet, relying instead on MoreTyme for smaller purchases and its TFG Money-backed Personal Loan for larger borrowing, whereas Capitec and Discovery Bank both offer a full credit card range.

Frequently asked questions