TymeBank chief commercial officer Cheslyn Jacobs has called out SA lenders for what he sees as an unsustainable reliance on banking fees, positioning the Patrice Motsepe-backed app-only bank as a go-to disrupter.
Speaking on the Business Day Spotlight podcast, Jacobs contrasts SA’s fee-heavy banking model — where about 50% of income stems from charges — with banking in markets such as the UK and Germany, where the norm is for banks to earn just 10% of income from fees and the rest from interest.
He says the high fee structure is a missed opportunity for the sector to adapt to a rapidly evolving customer base.
“The next generation of customers will demand more transparency and fairness. Banks that cling to the old model will struggle to compete,” Jacobs says in the wide-ranging conversation.
The Cape Flats-born executive is championing the TymeBank business model, which contrasts sharply with rival approaches.
The bank says customers are gradually shifting wallet share from other incumbents, rather than signing up customers who were previously without a bank account.
“It’s not about whether they’re a ‘primary’ customer in the traditional sense. When a customer splits their wallet between TymeBank and another institution, they often end up being more valuable to us. Think about it this way: our cost to acquire a customer starts at zero. So, even if we go from nothing to just R50 or R100 in their wallet, the only party benefiting is us — and, of course, the customer,” Jacobs said.
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