TymeBank, one of SA’s new digital banks, has appointed Tauriq Keraan as new CEO.
Keraan previously held the position of deputy CEO. According to TymeBank, he has played an instrumental role in the bank’s development, having been a member of the team that led to the digital bank’s inception in 2012 and having played a critical role in the market launch of TymeBank in 2019.
He succeeds former CEO Sandile Shabalala who resigned in June for personal reasons. Keraan takes the reins as the bank reached the 600 000 customer mark, five months after its official launch in February.
Shabalala held the position of CEO for close to three years.
TymeBank is owned by African Rainbow Capital (ARC), a company within business mogul Patrice Motsepe’s Ubuntu-Botho Investments stable, making it SA’s first majority black-owned bank. ARC bought the business from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in November 2018.
Dr Johan van Zyl, co-CEO ARC, comments: “Tauriq takes the reins at an important point in TymeBank’s evolution as he has to ensure customer enrolment is sustained over the coming months and beyond.
Given his experience, both as a member of the team that launched TymeBank, and as someone who has worked in the space of digital innovation for more than a decade, both the TymeBank board and ARC, believe he will lead his executive team to implement the business strategy successfully.”
Thabani Jali, chairman of TymeBank, says: “We are pleased that Tauriq will take up the position of CEO of TymeBank as it will ensure continuity in the business.
He is a seasoned executive who will continue to build TymeBank in its efforts to deliver affordable and accessible banking to our customers. Under Tauriq’s leadership, management will continue implementing the bank’s existing strategy.”
With the launch of three digital banks – Bank Zero, TymeBank and Discovery Bank – the South African retail banking industry is set for a shake-up this year.
TymeBank, which bills itself as “SA’s first digital bank”, aims to disrupt the industry with a proposition that introduces “simple, accessible and affordable banking”.
It wants to create a platform that stimulates economic participation and facilitates broader financial inclusion.
The digital bank has formed a long-term strategic partnership with retail giant Pick n Pay, allowing its customers to bank at Pick n Pay and Boxer stores around the country.
The bank already has over 500 kiosks in the market. Once it completes its rollout, there will be approximately 730 TymeBank points of presence, where customers can open accounts, and over 10 000 till points across 1 500 stores, where customers can withdraw and deposit money.
“We have a highly capable and committed team as well as a strong and supportive board to ensure we deliver on our strategic priorities,” says Keraan.
“Our customer enrolment numbers and activity rates are ahead of our business case and the business is likely to sustain this momentum over the coming months. Over the next six to 12 months, we will also deepen the way in which we meet customers’ needs by launching an account for small businesses, responsibly offering consumers unsecured credit as well as serving a million consumers by year-end.”
TymeBank management previously communicated that the overall market size of its target segment is estimated at about 20 million people of which it is aiming to acquire two million over a three-year period.
“TymeBank is geared to meet the needs of consumers in this market segment responsibly and affordably,” says Keraan.
“This will facilitate financial inclusion, which is core to TymeBank’s ethos. Since I first started working in the space of financial inclusion and digital banking over 10 years ago, helping people improve their financial well-being through affordable, accessible and dignified banking has been a passion of mine.
“We’re achieving this through digital banking innovation that uses cutting-edge technology, alternative distribution models and deep data-driven insights to better understand customers’ behaviour and needs and meet them in a relevant, responsible and cost-effective way.”
The leadership changes are effective immediately.