TymeBank launches technology partnership with local business owners

One of South Africa’s ever-growing banks, TymeBank has introduced measures to enter the township market with a partnership with local spaza shops.

The partnership with Khona La Local Stores, the digital-only bank TymeBank, is broadening its reach, taking financial technology to township businesses.

Launched on Friday, the joint venture will see spaza shops in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni, being empowered with budget technology solutions from TymeBank that makes it easy for customers to make cashless payments.

In a statement, TymeBank says its TymePOS point-of-sale solution, an application that turns any NFC-enabled cellphone into a tap-and-go payment device for debit and credit card payments, will now be used by the chain of independently-owned township-based spaza shops.

“What excites us about this partnership is the opportunity to help local entrepreneurs to transform their businesses by providing the latest technology,” says Cheslyn Jacobs, chief commercial officer at TymeBank.

“Spaza shops offer a valuable service to communities and their success can fuel much-needed job creation in our townships.

“TymePOS is easy to set up, easy to use, offers next day settlement, monthly transaction reports, and all this with no paperwork, making it a potential game-changer for these businesses.”

This comes as South Africa experiences growing interest from public and private entities to help formalise township-based enterprises, empower them to adopt emerging technologies, and embrace the digital economy.

ITWeb reports that to this end, TymeBank says its partnership with Khona La Local Stores will help various store merchants in Daveyton set up TymeBank business accounts and start using TymePOS.

As part of the partnership, TymeBank has made new smartphones available to store owners for the trial period and all selected Khona La network partners will have an everyday business account set up so they can begin transacting right away.

The website has it that participating spaza shops will then be able to accept card payments (cashless transactions) for as little as R20.

Commenting on the initiative, Khona La Local Stores founder Mxolisi Buthelezi says the partnership is a wise choice.

“This venture is a wise choice to boost the township’s economy and further reveal untapped potential,” He added.

“Without cash, people in the townships sometimes suffer as they are forced to wait in long queues at ATMs or, worse, travel to shopping malls, using the little money they have to cover other costs like taxi fares.

“We are grateful to TymeBank for this relationship. Now people can just use their bank card khona la, around the corner, at their local store.”

Main Image: TymeBank/ITWeb