TymeBank acquisition of Retail Capital a done deal

Source: Supplied.

The bank has acquired 100% of Retail Capital, an award-winning fintech company that provides funding to small and medium-sized businesses, in a deal worth R1.5bn. Work is now underway to integrate the organisations.

In terms of the acquisition, Retail Capital will become a division of TymeBank before the end of December 2022. Retail Capital’s chief executive officer Karl Westvig will join Tyme group’s executive committee and will be responsible for TymeBank’s business banking and lending offerings.

Commenting on the transaction approval, TymeBank chief executive officer, Coen Jonker said: “This is our first acquisition and the beginning of a new era for TymeBank as we branch out into working capital funding for small businesses.

"We are excited to welcome Westvig and the Retail Capital team into the TymeBank family. TymeBank business banking is strengthened by a quality acquisition and a high calibre team and we look forward to making business banking and access to capital more affordable for South Africa’s small business owners and entrepreneurs.”

Will Retail Capital rebrand?

There are no immediate plans to rebrand Retail Capital, which will continue to operate as usual.

“We want to maintain commercial momentum so we will focus on making the integration as seamless as possible, while meeting all the regulatory and reporting requirements of a single business,” said Jonker.

Westvig will head up TymeBank’s business banking division, which already has over 120,000 customers with a transactional business account that can be opened in under five minutes.

“There is an incredible synergy between Retail Capital and TymeBank, starting with the ethos to provide affordable banking to consumers and businesses. The cultural fit is seamless and the power of TymeBank's technology, distribution and deposits and Retail Capital's funding capabilities makes this a very natural partnership," said Westvig.