AS the banking landscape in the Philippines continues to provide the average Filipino consumer with average-quality service, GoTyme Bank aims to further up the ante by offering a “preferred” banking experience to everyone.
The nine-month-old GoTyme Bank is the fastest-growing bank in the Philippines where it crossed the 1-millionth customer mark in a few weeks.
In a recent interview with FrontpagePH.com, President and CEO Nate Clarke attributes their success in the country 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 explained.
He adds that today, this preferred banking experience is limited to the top 5 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,” said Clarke.
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,” he said.
“With GoTyme Bank, you can go to any Robinsons supermarket or department store, and you’ll be greeted by a smiling bank ambassador who will help you open an account and get a Visa debit card in under five minutes using our kiosk,” Clarke added.
As a bank with “better pricing, better service, and better products,” GoTyme Bank is in the best position to
attract everyday consumers looking to diversify their financial portfolio. The bank’s continuous growth and the increasing demand for digital banking are expected to expand GoTyme’s reach and, consequently, its capability to deliver a “preferred” banking experience to every one of its customers.