GOTYME BANK expects its customer base to continue growing amid increased demand for digital financial services and as it leverages partnerships.
GoTyme Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Nate Park said their users have reached 250,000 since they started operating in late October 2022, better than their expectations.
“We’re ahead of schedule. The demand has been growing, it’s been faster. We’re actually in the process now of reforecasting,” Mr. Park said in an event earlier this month.
“About four months ago, I shared that we were shooting for just over 5 million [users] in the first three years of operations. But with the way things are going, I think we could beat that,” he said.
The digital bank is also aiming to reach 10 million users in the first five years after its launch.
Mr. Park said the bank might be able to onboard 250,000 users a month once it starts ramping up promotions.
“We haven’t even started marketing yet. You haven’t seen us on billboards or on TV. So, in the second half of the year or the middle of the year, we’re gonna start to really go, and then maybe we’ll be at 250,000 a month,” he said.
The digital bank’s recent partnership with Cebu Pacific will also help with its growth, GoTyme Co-CEO and Chief Commercial Officer Albert Raymund O. Tinio added.
“In terms of our subscribers, we started off three months ago with very conservative expectations. But now, it’s gone beyond that,” he said.
“I think this (partnership with Cebu Pacific), together with our desire to get to the grass roots and democratize [travel], it’s going to exponentially help us grow as GoTyme bank and ultimately contribute to our mission of unlocking every Pinoy’s potential,” he added.
The digital bank launched its travel rewards partnership with Cebu Pacific and Go Rewards earlier this month.
GoTyme Bank is a partnership between the Gokongwei Group, which holds a 60% stake, and Singapore-based digital banking group Tyme, which has 40%.
It is one of the six entities that secured licenses to operate as digital banks from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in 2021, with the others being Tonik Digital Bank, Inc., Maya Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank, UNObank, and UnionDigital.
The BSP has said it will not accept new applications for all-online lenders for two or three years as it needs to boost its capacity to regulate these banks and also promote competition in the sector.
Digital lenders are expected to help the central bank reach its goal to bring 70% of Filipino adults into the formal financial system and have 50% of payments done online by the end of this year. — A.M.C. Sy
