Digital bank TymeBank is well on its way to on-boarding its next million customers, announcing a partnership with one of the largest African-initiated church groups, the Zion Christian Church (ZCC).
The ZCC counts 12 million churchgoers as part of its membership, says a statement. Some nine million of those members are based in SA, approximately six million of whom are adults. About four million members make the annual pilgrimage to Moria in Limpopo every April.
In terms of the partnership, ZCC members will be offered an opportunity to take up a Zion City Moria (ZCM) membership card, which will serve as both a membership card and a member’s bank card.
According to the statement, the first phase of the partnership is a pilot, which will see a smaller group of ZCC elders taken through TymeBank’s kiosk-based on-boarding process, supported by newly recruited and trained Zetnet agents.
Initially, ZCM card-holders will be able to deposit and withdraw cash at any of the approximately 14 000 till points at Pick n Pay and Boxer stores nationally, as well as withdraw cash from any ATM.
The pilot phase is being conducted in preparation for on-boarding far larger groups of church members throughout the remainder of 2020 and beyond, the statement adds.
“The ZCC has always taken the well-being of its members very seriously,” notes Edward Lekganyane, head of the ZCM membership card programme for the ZCC. “Over the years, we have enrolled our members, on a group basis, as clients of well-established businesses that offer their services to our church members.
“Encouraged by the success of these initiatives, the church leadership has for some time now expressed the need to partner with a bank that could offer our members cost-effective banking solutions.
“Offering a group-wide banking solution for our members through a financial institution that shares our values means we are able to help look after the financial well-being of our members. There are various benefits to the partnership with TymeBank, including the fact that the bank will come to our congregants, and customers will be supported by our own people.”
Launched in February 2019, TymeBank is owned by African Rainbow Capital (ARC), the investment holding company founded by business mogul Dr Patrice Motsepe.
Commenting on the partnership, Motsepe says: “As the majority shareholder in TymeBank, ARC is very proud of its partnership with the ZCC to provide a competitive and low-cost banking product to the members of the ZCC.
“This partnership also makes me personally very proud as the ZCC is a church that I respect and love a lot. Hundreds of thousands of ZCC members will become part of the South African banking and financial services industry and this will enable them and their families to be part of and benefit from the South African economy.”
TymeBank CEO Tauriq Keraan adds: “This exciting partnership between TymeBank and the ZCC reaffirms the strength of our business model and technology, which allows us to scale quickly and at low cost by partnering with organisations that have strong existing relationships with customers.
“Our partnership with Pick n Pay and Boxer has allowed us to grow rapidly to over one million customers in nine months since launching and we are still acquiring over 110 000 customers per month through their stores.
“Our partnership with the ZCC will not only bring us a step change in customer acquisition growth but, importantly, will also result in high levels of account utilisation due to the strong affinity between the ZCC and its members,” states Keraan.
The ZCM membership card will offer the following:
- The ZCM membership card will be recognised as a ZCC membership card for its members as well as a debit card linked to a fully ‘know your customer’ compliant bank account.
- A five-minute paperless customer on-boarding process at ZCM-branded portable kiosks in-community.
- Best-in-market transactional banking fees and interest on savings balances with no withdrawal notice periods.
- Extra smart shopper rewards (double points earned for purchases in Pick n Pay and points for all purchases outside Pick n Pay).
- Zero-rated data for smart app and Internet banking (no customer data used to access these channels).
- Additional benefits include security access control.
- The banking product will be supported by trained Zetnet-appointed agents using ZCM-branded portable kiosks.
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