GoTyme Bank: the Tyme group's digital bank in the Philippines and South Africa

GoTyme refers to two separate banks belonging to the same group, Tyme. In the Philippines, the account is held by GoTyme Bank Corporation, which states that it is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP); it operates under a digital bank licence. In South Africa, it is held by GoTyme Bank Limited, registered under number 2015/231510/06, an authorised financial services provider (FSP 49140) and registered credit provider (NCRCP 10774).

The South African bank was previously called TymeBank. The specialist press reports that it officially adopted the name GoTyme Bank in early 2026, specifying that it is "the same bank, built on the same licence": ownership, products, accounts and supervision are unchanged. The name TymeBank is kept as an alias. The list of CoDI member banks published by the South African Reserve Bank still shows it under the name TymeBank Limited.

Editorial choice: a single profile, with two entities. The brand, the app and the group are shared, which matches our "one brand, one provider" convention. The offers, however, do not overlap (each has its own country, licence, currency, guarantee and eligibility); the profile therefore presents them country by country, and no account opened in one country can be used as a local account in the other.

We consulted neither the BSP register of institutions nor that of the South African Prudential Authority; the statuses rely on the legal notices of the two banks and on the list of CoDI members.

Philippines

GoTyme Bank Philippines publishes a section dedicated to foreign nationals. Accepted documents may include certain ACR-I cards (permanent resident, born in the Philippines, special non-immigrant, worker, among others), the ACR extension letter for 9(g) workers, and diplomat or official cards. The bank warns that additional documents may be required depending on the applicant's situation, and refers to the app for current conditions.

South Africa

You need a South African identity number, an active South African mobile phone number and to be at least figure being updated. A foreigner without a South African identity number does not meet these conditions.

The lists of nationalities accepted in the Philippines and the rules applicable when leaving the country could not be read: the relevant help pages did not display in our environment.

In the Philippines, the offer covers peso accounts, a debit card and transfers, including remittances abroad that are promoted to resident foreigners. In South Africa, the bank offers a transactional account and a savings account in rand, opened online or at kiosks installed in retail stores.

We do not reproduce any fees: the South African fee schedule was found only on a secondary source and the Philippine schedule was not consulted.

In the Philippines, deposits are insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) up to figure being updated per depositor, according to GoTyme. In South Africa, they are insured by the Corporation for Deposit Insurance up to up to ZAR 100,000¹ per depositor. The two guarantees are separate and each applies to the local entity.

• The country of the entity holding the account: it determines the licence, the guarantee and the currency.
• In the Philippines, the type of ACR-I card held, and its expiry date.
• In South Africa, the need for a local identity number, which excludes most foreigners.
• What happens to the account if you leave the country, which is not documented.
• Reporting obligations linked to your tax residence: a French tax resident must declare each year the accounts opened, held, used or closed outside France, including those of online banks and payment wallets; other countries impose comparable obligations.