GOTYME BANK has reached 5.1 million customers and P24 billion in deposits to date, its top official said.

“We’re now at 5.1 million customers. We will end the year at about 5.3 million customers. We’re super thankful for the big adoption and loyalty,” GoTyme Bank President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nathaniel D. Clarke told BusinessWorld in an interview on Wednesday. “Deposits are also very strong. We’re at about P24 billion now, so it’s growing much faster than planned.”

“I thought I was being ambitious when I said [we’d hit] five million [customers] in three years and 10 million in five years, but now we’re at five million in two years and we’ll be close to 10 million in three years — so it’s obviously a good problem,” Mr. Clarke said, adding that they plan to increase their savings rate to 5% from 4% early next year to celebrate these milestones.

He attributed the rapid growth in GoTyme Bank’s customers and deposits to the ease of use of their mobile app, the country’s large young and underserved market, and their customer acquisition and distribution model that is backed by their kiosks and the Gokongwei group’s retail network.

“I think the market is just underserved. The reality is if you compare it to other markets, the incumbent banks have not delivered a great digital experience. The Philippines, I think, has the second youngest population in the world in a country with above 50 million [individuals] and is demanding high-quality digital services and experience,” Mr. Clarke said.

The bank’s “phygital” or physical and digital distribution model, which utilizes kiosks and ambassadors, also addresses the needs of those who prefer to make their transactions in person, he added.

The Gokongwei group’s wide retail network has made it easier for the bank to reach areas outside the National Capital Region, especially in Cebu, Mr. Clarke said.

For 2025, GoTyme Bank expects to reach over nine million customers and over P35 billion in deposits, the official said, as the lender plans to scale up its product offerings, especially credit and investments.

“We’re also already in testing for our buy now, pay later product as a consumer credit. I think next year is about starting to scale consumer credit beyond payroll lending and getting into investments,” Mr. Clarke said.

The bank also plans to offer digital asset services soon as it was granted a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in October, he added.

“We’re hopefully days away from putting that live in a pilot, then like a limited live,” Mr. Clarke said.

VASPs are firms that offer services or engage in activities that provide facilities for the safekeeping, administration, transfer or exchange of virtual assets. Their products and services include cryptocurrencies and electronic wallets for holding and storing virtual assets.

GoTyme Bank is one of the six digital lenders licensed by the BSP. The others are Tonik Digital Bank, Inc.; Maya Bank; Overseas Filipino Bank; UNObank; and UnionDigital Bank.

It is a partnership between the Gokongwei group and Singapore-based Tyme Group, which also operates TymeX in Vietnam, India and China and digital bank TymeBank in South Africa.

TymeBank was previously reported to be gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) in New York by 2028.

“The market will dictate the timing. We want to be IPO ready in four to five years,” Mr. Clarke said. “South Africa is already profitable, so that will start creating a lot of earnings. We need to be profitable here, and we think we need to be approaching scale and profitability in a third market, either Vietnam or Indonesia. We think that before we are listing ready, we need three markets at scale.”

The official previously said he expects GoTyme Bank to become profitable by end-2025. — Aaron Michael C. Sy