ARC seeks investors for Tyme

African Rainbow Capital (ARC) announced on Friday it had received the regulatory approvals necessary to acquire TymeDigital from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and will now look to add strategic investors capable of helping the country’s newest bank grow quickly.

With a number of new entrants hot on its heels including Michael Jordaan’s Bank Zero and Discovery Bank

Tyme will now be perfecting its operating processes and rounding out its product offering before undertaking a more aggressive roll-out to its partner, Pick n Pay stores. The bank will be renamed TymeBank when it officially launches to the public.

“We will keep ARC’s stake well above 50%,” said co-CEO Johan van Zyl. “But consistent with our operating model, we will look to dilute our shareholding to investors we think can help us scale the business. These include investors that have access to client pools, and investors interested in lowering the cost of banking fees,” he said.

ARC will also be splitting the business. TymeBank is the bank offering, while the technology underpinning the core banking system will be housed in its own entity, where it will be marketed to interested parties. The technology is also being applied by the Commonwealth Bank in markets such as Indonesia and New Zealand.

“There is a lot of interest in the technology as it can significantly bring down costs for a bank,” Van Zyl said.