TymeBank, the digital bank in which Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital (ARC) is majority shareholder, has partnered with Flash – a payments solutions provider with a large footprint in the informal trading market – to offer TymeBank customers the ability to withdraw cash at over 172 000 spaza shops and traders across South Africa.

“While TymeBank supports the country’s shift to a cashless society, the reality is that cash is still used extensively in our communities and the informal market,” said Greg Illgner, chief strategy officer at TymeBank, in a statement on Tuesday.

“Flash provides an accessible, convenient and easy-to-use cash-out solution, which means TymeBank customers can withdraw cash from a convenient location, reducing time and money spent travelling.”

Illgner said TymeBank customers will also save on fees when using the Flash network as withdrawals there – at R7/transaction – are charged at lower rates than they are at ATMs (R10/R1 000). To make a Flash withdrawal, customers must generate a cash voucher via TymeBank’s USSD channel by dialling *120*543#.

The process can only be facilitated via USSD and not via the TymeBank app. A TymeBank spokeswoman told TechCentral that the reason for this is based on the target market, which largely still uses basic phones, although it does not exclude smartphone users as their devices are USSD capable as well.