GoTyme Bank targets 1 million customer base

MANILA, Philippines — GoTyme Bank aims to hit one million customer base in a few weeks as it offers a preferred banking experience where the average Filipino consumer gets average-quality service.

GoTyme Bank president and CEO Nate Clarke attributed their success in the Philippines to their partnership with the Gokongwei Group and their unique, human-led digital model of banking.

“If you strip away all the apps and the branches and everything else from banking in general, it’s a trust game, and the Gokongwei name is accelerating customer adoption. Most importantly, I think the reason we’ve had early success is our unique model. We are doing a very human-led digital model of digital banking. And that allows us to deliver a preferred banking experience to everyone,” Clarke said.

He pointed out that the preferred banking experience is limited to the top five percent of consumers, in particular, those bringing in millions of pesos to the business.

“If you’re an average Filipino customer served by a bank, you’re limited to transactional savings. You have no access to affordable credit, investment, or insurance. You’re excluded from these unless you have a certain balance with the bank,” Clarke said.

GoTyme Bank’s unique approach provides all clients with preferred service, first and foremost, by humanizing the mundane, transactional, and often tedious experience of banking.

Despite its highly digital model, GoTyme appreciates how consumers value human connection.

With many traditional transactions now facilitated through apps and chatbots, GoTyme’s unexpected but much-appreciated edge is its human-led, “phygital” onboarding and continued client servicing.

“If you’re an average Filipino and you want to open a bank account with one of the incumbents, you walk into a branch, you spend hours in that branch probably, and then you don’t even walk away with a fully functional account. You probably have to come back a couple of weeks later to get that debit card. But if you’re a high net worth client, what we call a ‘preferred banking customer’ for one of those banks, someone’s going to fill out the forms for you. It’s going to happen quickly and they’re going to deliver that card.”

With GoTyme Bank, Clarke said customers could go to any Robinsons supermarket or department store and be greeted by a smiling bank ambassador who will help open an account and get a Visa debit card in under five minutes using the kiosks.