Singapore-based digital banking network Tyme expanded its series B round to $180m on Tuesday with $70m from internet and gaming group Tencent and development finance institution CDC Group, highlighting the international expansion of digital banking.
The close of the round follows a $110m first tranche in February this year featuring conglomerate Gokongwei Group’s JG Summit Holdings subsidiary and private equity firm Apis Partners’ Apis Growth Fund II.
Founded in 2019, Tyme is building a digital banking network aimed at emerging markets. It will use the proceeds to grow its TymeBank retail bank in South Africa and fund its Philippines-focused banking subsidiary, GoTyme, as it lays the foundation for an expansion across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
GoTyme recently secured a Philippines banking licence in August this year, after applying for one together with JG Summit after the February tranche.
The Asia Pacific (APAC) region is especially rich in demand for digital banking services. According to McKinsey’s Personal Financial Services Survey, market penetration for financial technology apps and e-wallets reached 54% in emerging APAC markets, an even higher rate than the 43% in developed APAC countries.
Traditional banks are doing everything they can to keep up with digitisation as the consumer preference is overwhelming: 97% of APAC consumers use digital banking either as one of several banking channels or favour it over other ways of interacting with their bank, according to McKinsey.
TymeBank’s chief executive, Tauriq Keraan, said: “This is a momentous event for TymeBank. We look forward to continuing to demonstrate our strong strategic and execution capabilities to all our investors and to benefit from the deep global expertise that Tencent and CDC have accumulated through a multitude of investments in digital businesses.
“We are equally excited about the opportunity to pursue the synergies that exist between all our investors and partners, ultimately to ensure added value for our customers.”
Tyme claims to be one of the fastest-growing digital banks in the world, having gained 4 million customers over the past 32 months. It will now look to expand to other markets where CDC has a presence.
Tymebank is billed as the first bank in South Africa to operate completely from a cloud-based infrastructure network and is a further data point in the growing demand for alternative banking services, particularly in developing economies, which have experienced an uptick in funding of late.
Mexico-based digital bank Stori raised $200m last month in a series C round featuring Bertelsmann Asia Investments, a subsidiary of media group Bertelsmann, that was co-led by venture capital firm GGV Capital and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC.
Brazil-headquartered Nubank secured $2.6bn yesterday in an initial public offering valuing it at $41bn, providing an exit for internet group Tencent. Other notable neobanks in emerging markets to have recently raised money include Argentina-based Ualá, Nigeria-headquartered Kuda and India-based Open.
