GoTyme Bank: Accounts, GoalSave & deposits

GoTyme Bank accounts compared

Current Account

GoTyme’s Current Account has no monthly fee, no minimum balance, and no complicated fee tiers. It comes with a free Visa debit card (physical and virtual) and gives access to Instant Payments, Send Money Vouchers (transfers to any South African cellphone number), and in-app purchases of airtime, data, SMS bundles and prepaid electricity.

Instant payments via PayShap are free for transfers up to R5,000, with a flat R7 fee on payments between R5,000 and R50,000.

How to open a Current Account

Opening an account needs only a South African ID number, a valid South African mobile number, and the applicant must be 16 years or older. No proof of income or address is required. Applications are done through the GoTyme Bank app, using a selfie for biometric verification, and take under five minutes; the physical debit card can then be collected from a GoTyme Bank kiosk.

This app-first, no-paperwork process is a deliberate design choice aimed at customers who may not have a formal payslip, utility bill, or fixed address to show — barriers that can block account opening at a traditional bank. It’s part of why GoTyme was originally built to reach South Africans who were unbanked or underbanked by the traditional system.

GoalSave

GoalSave is a savings feature attached to the Current Account, not a standalone transactional account — no ATM withdrawals, payments or debit orders run directly from it. It pays 6% interest per year on any balance, with no minimum deposit and no minimum balance required. Customers can open up to 20 named GoalSave pockets and save up to R250,000 in total across them.

To earn the 10% bonus rate, give 10 days’ notice before a full withdrawal or closing that GoalSave, and make sure that pocket has no prior partial-withdrawal history. A partial withdrawal from a pocket disqualifies it from earning the bonus rate going forward.

Do I need to pay tax on GoalSave or Fixed Deposit interest?

Interest earned on GoalSave and Fixed Deposit counts as taxable income under South African tax law, though SARS allows an annual interest exemption threshold that changes from time to time — check the current amount on sars.gov.za, since it varies by age bracket and can be adjusted each tax year. Interest earned below that threshold in a tax year isn’t taxed; interest above it must be declared.

Each year, GoTyme issues an IT3(b) certificate — a summary of the interest you earned on your accounts during the South African tax year (1 March to the end of February). This is generally available from the app around the end of June, in time for SARS’s annual filing season. Most of this information is pre-populated on your SARS tax return automatically; the certificate is there so you can check it’s correct or fill in any section that wasn’t pre-populated. Keep a copy for at least 5 years, since SARS may ask you to verify it later.

Fixed Deposit

GoTyme expanded its Fixed Deposit in July 2026 from three term options to five, giving customers a term of 3, 6, 12, 24 or 36 months, with interest paid out at maturity rather than accruing access along the way. Interest is calculated at a simple fixed rate on the original deposit amount — for example, a R10,000 deposit over 12 months at GoTyme Bank’s published 12-month rate of 8.75% returns R10,875 at maturity.

Rates are subject to change, so confirm the current rate for your chosen term before committing. It suits money that isn’t needed during the chosen term, in exchange for a fixed, locked-in return.

GoTyme Bank branch code, SWIFT code and USSD banking

GoTyme uses a single universal branch code — 678910 — for every customer, since it has no physical branch network to assign separate codes to. This is the same code TymeBank used before the rebrand, and it applies to salary deposits, debit orders and any EFT into a GoTyme account. For international wire transfers, use the SWIFT/BIC code CBZAZAJJ alongside the account number; as with any international transfer, it’s worth confirming the code with your sending bank first, since SWIFT details can occasionally be branch-specific.

Customers without a smartphone or mobile data can still bank by dialling *120*543# from their registered cellphone number — this menu covers balance checks, mini statements, sending money, and paying bills over USSD, on any network. To buy airtime via USSD even with no airtime left on the line, dial *130*543# instead.

Can I receive SASSA payments into a GoTyme Bank account?

Yes — a GoTyme Bank Current Account can receive SASSA SRD or other grant payments the same way it receives any other deposit, since GoTyme is a fully licensed South African bank. To link a GoTyme account for SASSA payments, provide your account number together with the universal branch code (678910) when registering or updating your banking details with SASSA. Once a grant payment reflects, it can be checked the same way as any other deposit — in the app, via a push notification, or by dialling *120*543# to check your balance without a smartphone.

GrantAdvance: early access to your grant

GoTyme Bank offers GrantAdvance, a fee-free, interest-free option for SASSA grant recipients who bank with GoTyme to access up to R500 of their grant before the official payment date. Unlike a conventional loan, there’s no interest and no fee charged — the advance is simply repaid from the next grant payment when it arrives. This is aimed at bridging a short cash-flow gap near the end of the month, not as a source of ongoing borrowing.

Is my money protected?

GoTyme is a licensed South African bank regulated by the SARB. GoTyme’s qualifying deposits are covered by the Corporation for Deposit Insurance (CODI) up to R100,000 per depositor — the same standard of cover that applies across other licensed South African banks.

Does GoTyme Bank really never charge a monthly fee?

The R0 monthly fee applies to an active account. GoTyme Bank’s own terms confirm that if an account is deemed inactive or dormant — generally after an extended period with no transactions initiated by the customer — monthly fees can start being charged during that period, even though the account is fee-free while it’s in normal use. This is worth knowing if you’re planning to open a second GoTyme account you won’t use regularly, or if you’re not going to touch an account for a long stretch, since the usual R0 promise isn’t unconditional in that scenario.

Debit orders and everyday transactions

The GoTyme Current Account supports standard debit orders, so it can be used as a primary transactional account for recurring payments like insurance, subscriptions or store accounts, not just a savings-linked account. GoTyme Bank customers can make bill payments through Pay@ or EasyPay directly in the app, and buy Lotto and Powerball tickets and vouchers for services like Netflix, Uber and UberEats without leaving the app.

Second accounts and business use

GoTyme offers a second-account feature for customers who want to separate spending — for example, a personal account and a side-business account under one profile. Following a 2026 update, GoalSaves that were previously linked to a business account are now consolidated under the customer’s single personal profile and continue earning interest as normal, and instant payments from a second account are free up to R5,000 with a flat R7 fee up to R50,000, matching the PayShap fee structure on the main Current Account.

Can I use GoTyme Bank for a stokvel?

Not formally. GoTyme doesn’t offer a joint or multi-signatory group savings account built for stokvels, unlike some traditional banks that do have a dedicated stokvel product. Every GoTyme Bank account — Current Account, GoalSave, or Fixed Deposit — is tied to a single verified individual, with no option for multiple members to have independent, verified access or sign-off on the same account.

In practice, some informal groups still use a GoalSave pocket this way: one member — usually the treasurer — opens the account in their own name, creates a dedicated GoalSave pocket for the group’s savings, and members pay their contributions to that person to deposit. This can work for a small, high-trust group, and benefits from GoalSave’s 6% (up to 10% with notice) rate and no minimum balance. But it comes with a real trade-off: only that one member has verified access and control of the money, there’s no built-in way for other members to independently confirm the balance or authorise withdrawals, and the funds aren’t legally ring-fenced as the group’s — they sit in one person’s personal account. Groups that need shared control, multiple signatories, or a formal record of group ownership are better served by a bank that offers a dedicated stokvel or society account product.

Frequently asked questions