New chief executive officer at TymeBank, Tauriq Keraan, says that the bank is acquiring customers at a faster rate than anticipated – more than 110,000 each month – making it one of the fastest growing banks in the world.

TymeBank appointed former deputy chief executive Keraan as its new CEO on Wednesday, taking over from Sandile Shabalala who resigned in June this year for personal reasons.

TymeBank offers a low to no fee EveryDay bank account offering, and a GoalSave product that is distributed through digital channels and Pick n Pay and Boxer stores.

Keraan takes the reins as the bank reached the 630,000 customer mark, only months after its official launch in February. And speaking to BusinessTech, Keraan said that the bank is ahead of schedule to reach one million customers before the end of the year.

TymeBank management previously communicated that the overall market size of its target segment is estimated at about 20 million people of which it is aiming to acquire two million over a three-year period.

Keraan said that the bank will look to drive up customer adoption rates in the short-to-medium term, targeting increased banking activity. He said that because the bank is free, only 40% of its customer base is currently active. However, he stressed that the activity rate is increasing month-on-month.

Keraan said that the average customer currently makes seven transactions per month, adding that the bank aims to ramp up that number by increasing value added services.

“We’ve got customers who are using our EveryDay account, but who are not saving through the GoalSave account. Then we have got customers who are using GoalSave, but not the EveryDay account.

“So it’s about nudging the customers we currently have.” He also highlighted Pick n Pay related rewards that customers aren’t yet properly making use of, which will take focus between now and the end of the year.

Plans to expand its value proposition include a more formal lending proposition, in 2020. Keraan said that a personal loan product is currently under development, and will be phased in through an invitation only process, to ensure that the group’s systems “are sufficiently resilient”.

“Our customer enrolment numbers and activity rates are ahead of our business case and the business is likely to sustain this momentum over the coming months. Over the next 6 to 12 months, we will also deepen the way in which we meet customers’ needs by launching an account for small businesses, responsibly offering consumers unsecured credit as well as serving a million consumers by year-end,” said Keraan.

Read: TymeBank – everything you need to know about South Africa’s first digital-only bank