TymeBank announces new appointments

TymeBank and its international sister company Tyme, are pleased to announce the appointment of David Pfaff as Chief Financial Officer of Tyme as well as country Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tyme’s South African operations.

Pfaff is a widely respected finance and retail operations executive, and his extensive skill set and experience in retail finance will bolster execution capacity at both Tyme’s headquarters in Singapore as well as specific product rollouts in South Africa. He took office on 1 March 2021.

The announcement of his appointment follows the recent announcement by TymeBank SA and Tyme that they have secured about R1.6 billion in foreign investment from two new international shareholders. The new investors are Apis Growth Fund II, a fintech private equity fund managed by Apis Partners (Apis), and JG Summit Holdings (JG Summit), the renowned conglomerate owned by the Gokongwei family and one of the largest in the Philippines. TymeBank SA is a member of the Tyme group of companies, which is headquartered in Singapore. As part of the arrangement of bringing the two new shareholders onboard, international expansion in select emerging markets will become a strategic growth priority. Pfaff is expected to divide his time between Singapore and South Africa to cover all his responsibilities.

Pfaff will work alongside TymeBank CEO, Tauriq Keraan, who will remain in his position as CEO and continue to report to the TymeBank Board.

Before joining Tyme, Pfaff held the coveted position of chief operating officer and chief financial officer in his eight-year stint at clothing retailer Truworths, where he was responsible for a R6 billion credit book, credit risk, credit operations, store retail operations, finance and information technology. Pfaff’s resignation from Truworths was announced in November last year, but it became effective in February this year. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and held the position of Board member at Truworths International since 2013. He was touted as a likely successor to the clothing retailer’s current Group CEO.

Now at Tyme, Pfaff is expected to share his expertise with the implementation of TymeBank’s innovative consumer credit product labelled MoreTyme™ given his extensive experience in retail credit. This product is akin to lay-buy and will see the bank’s qualifying customers buying a retail product but advancing only 50% of the purchase price upfront and the balance being settled over a 30-day and 60-day period – without paying interest.

Given the relatively poor performance of the South African economy, as well as how the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the already ailing economy, TymeBank opted not to offer customers unsecured loans last year. Instead, the bank has rejigged its suite of credit products to customers and MoreTyme™ is expected to become a real hit with the bank’s customers.

At Tyme’s international operations, Pfaff will be tasked with ensuring the financial health of cross-border growth initiatives in select geographical parts of South-east Asia. The international regulatory environment in this part of the world is becoming more favourable to the establishment of digital banks in the area. 

Says Dr Patrice Motsepe, Chairman of African Rainbow Capital, the majority shareholder of TymeBank:

“TymeBank is democratising banking in South Africa and has achieved many significant milestones, after having launched a mere two years ago. The opportunity of continued client acquisitive growth remains strong as we plan on having many more South Africans benefit from the TymeBank value proposition. At the same time, the bank is preparing for the roll-out of key products for the benefit of customers. David is widely credited for his vast experience and skills in retail finance, which is critical to ensure TymeBank’s continued success. We look forward to the contribution that he’ll make and wish him every success.”

Says TymeBank CEO, Tauriq Keraan:

“TymeBank continues to achieve exceptionally high customer satisfaction through its single view of the customer, its world class technology and its easy-to-use applications, whilst still maintaining its significant cost advantage for all South Africans. Having just successfully completed our capital raise, we are gearing up for significant customer growth and uptake in our products over the short to medium term. As TymeBank management, we are clear on the drivers of future growth. We are delighted that David is on-board as his skill set and vast retail experience will deliver insights from which the bank will benefit immensely.”

Says Pfaff of his appointment at Tyme:

      “I am excited to join such an innovative and exciting company that will change banking as we know it. Consumers will support a bank that offers superior customer service with cost-effective banking fees. Such easy-to-use and affordable banking is what will appeal to all South Africans.”

TymeBank also announced the appointment of two new board members, Tina Eboka and Mogomotsi (Kele) Boakgoma as independent, non-executive directors.

Says TymeBank Chairperson Former Judge Thabani Jali:

      “On behalf of the board, I want to say how delighted we are to welcome these two exceptional individuals, whose extensive experience and expertise will help guide the bank’s journey to new heights, for the benefit of all South Africans.”

Eboka previously served as member of the Executive Committee at Standard Bank. Boakgomo was Managing Director: Innovation Services at Accenture. 

TymeBank onboards an average of 110,000 new customers per month, making it globally recognised for digital banking in emerging markets. The bank is expected to reach the 3 million customer milestone before the end of March. The bank intends to grow its customer base to 4 million in 2022.

With the investment made by the new shareholders, TymeBank will expand propositions in insurance, credit cards, and other value-added services to customers. This will support the bank’s ethos of broadening access to financial services to individual clients, entrepreneurs, and small and medium business owners, into the banking ecosystem.