Tyme Bank Review: First Virtual Bank Account in South Africa

TymeBank (Take Your Money Everywhere) is the first fully digital bank in South Africa. The bank allows you to open a virtual bank account in South Africa. The bank offers a personal account, money transfer service, savings account, personal loans and financial literacy app. As of June 2020, the bank had signed up 1.9 million customers.

How TymeBank Bank Works

Being a virtual bank in South Africa, you may ask yourself, “Where is TymeBank located?” TymeBank does not have any physical bank branches. You can deal with the bank using TymeBank app, TymeBank website or TymeBank kiosks at South Africa’s retail store Pick n Pay and Boxer stores. There are over 500 kiosks around the country. Account holders can pay for goods and services online at over 80 merchants in South Africa.

TymeBank is a new kind of bank that’s digitally smart. The money we save by not having branches benefits you, it means you pay a lot less for banking. We have no monthly fees, many everyday banking transactions are FREE and there are very low charges for other transactions. And that’s just for starters.

How to Open TymeBank Account

It takes less than 5 minutes to open your account. There are no documents needed. All you need is your South African ID number, residential address, your thumbprint and an active South African cellphone number. The bank verifies your identity by asking you several questions and then you will be given a One-Time PIN (OTP).

There are two ways to open an account with the bank.

• You can open bank account online South Africa on Tyme Bank website.
• You can open at TymeBank kiosks located at Pick n Pay and Boxer stores. If you open your account at a Tyme Bank kiosk, your biometric data will be captured and a free Visa debit card will be issued instantly. Moreover, when you open your account at Pick n Pay, you can automatically join their Smart Shopper programme.
• You can also open via TymeBank app, Android and iOS.

As a TymeBank Smart Shopper you earn points every time you swipe your Smart Shopper card! Points can be spent on anything you like and are just one of the ways we save you money. Another way we reward Smart Shoppers is with eight personalised discounts every 2 weeks which you can load directly from your email.

Advantages of TymeBank

TymeBank gives its customers many benefits including:

• Fast and easy. Opening an account is fast and easy. The only information needed is an ID number, residential address and a South African mobile phone number. You can get TymeBank card (Visa debit card) instantly at TymeBank kiosks.
• Affordable. The bank has no monthly fees and offers free or very low charges for banking transactions.
• Rewards. Account holders earn bonus TymeBank Smart Shopper points wherever they shop and double Smart Shopper points when they swipe and pay inside Pick n Pay.
• TymeBank Savings Account. You can save money by using its GoalSave feature. Tymebank savings account interest rate goes up to 10% interest after 91 days.
• Additional transactions. You can buy using TymeBank as well as pay for bills.
• Financial Literacy. The bank uses its financial literacy app, Time Coach on Android and iOS, to teach account holders on how to manage their finances.

Disadvantages of TymeBank

TymeBank has several disadvantages. Some of them are:

• GoalSave withdrawal. If you want to withdraw your money from your GoalSave account, you have to withdraw the whole amount.
• TymeBank kiosks. You can only withdraw money from Pick n Pay and Boxer stores unless you use your Visa debit card.
• Limited transactions. If you open your account online, your transactions will be limited until you go to TymeBank kiosk and upgrade your account to a full account after your biometric data is captured.
• Visa card limitation. With TymeBank Visa card, you can only pay for goods and services at companies in South Africa.
• Geographic limitation. Only South Africans can open bank accounts.

TymeBank Features

Apart from the normal personal account called EveryDay bank account, the bank offers the following features:

TymeBank Personal Loans

TymeBank loan attracts a R60 monthly service fee and personalised TymeBank interest rate ranging from 13% up to a maximum of 25%. The loans are ideal for home renovations, holiday funding and unexpected expenses.

Tyme Bank debit order reversal: TymeBank cannot reverse, refund or correct payments that were made to an incorrect cellphone number or to the wrong person. If the person you sent money to does not redeem the money within 7 days, the money will be reversed into your account at midnight on the 7th day (one week) after the transaction.

GoalSave

To encourage a savings culture, the bank has a feature called GoalSave. TymeBank savings account allows you to save more money to reach your goals while earning more interest the longer you save. In addition, the feature protects your money from unauthorised debit orders. If you give a 10-days’ notice to withdraw your money, the bank will give you a bonus on top of the money and interest you have already earned.

SendMoney

SendMoney is Tyme Bank money transfer service. You can send cash to anyone with a valid South African cellphone number. They do not need a bank account since they can withdraw the cash at Pick n Pay or Boxer stores. SendMoney is free to another TymeBank account holder. Sending to a non-TymeBank account holder, you will need to pay R4.

TymeBank Fees

Tyme Bank fees and free services are as follows:

TymeBank Free Services

Charged Services

TymeBank Reviews

TymeBank has got only one star from over 600 reviews on Hellopeter. The most common complaints from TymeBank customers is missing funds and poor customer service.

More Information About TymeBank South Africa

• TymeBank customer service numbers
• TymeBank on Twitter
• TymeBank on LinkedIn
• TymeBank on Facebook
• TymeBank on Instagram