SAVii (previously known as Uploan), the largest fintech salary lender in the Philippines, has been acquired by the shareholders of GoTyme Bank—JG Summit and Tyme Group—for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition will help propel the expansion of GoTyme Bank’s payroll-enabled financial products and give the bank access to SAVii’s more than 500,000 customers, according to the announcement.
“This acquisition enables us to drive our strategy of deepening customer relationships by offering payroll and financial products that benefit both employees and their employers,” Nate Clarke, GoTyme Bank president and CEO, said on behalf of the bank’s shareholders.
GoTyme started offering an earned wage access (EWA) feature in April to employees of select companies – enabling eligible employees to access their pay every day.
The expansion of GoTyme Bank’s payroll-enabled financial products is also aligned with the call of the BSP to expand lending to Filipinos.
SAVii was founded in 2017 by its CEO Liam Grealish, with Benoit Portoleau-Balloy and Javier Frasseto. The company claims to have a loan book of over P3 billion.
Grealish said teaming up with GoTyme Bank was a “clear and obvious path in our mission to assist individuals in accessing formal finance”.
“We are excited with the opportunities it opens for our partner companies and their employees.” says Grealish. “SAVii can now offer a more comprehensive banking proposition to its customers.”
GoTyme Bank is a partnership between Gokongwei family-led JG Summit and digital bank operator Tyme Group. It is one of the six digital banks licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to operate in the country.
The first bank to obtain the license was Overseas Filipino Bank, a subsidiary of the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines.
The others that have secured digital banking licences are Tonik Digital Bank Inc (Philippines), whose holding company is Singapore-based Tonik Financial Pte Ltd; UNObank, which is backed by Singapore-based fintech company UNOAsia; and Aboitiz-led Union Digital Bank.
Last March, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the banking arm of the Zobel de Ayala family, disclosed that it was selling its entire stake in GoTyme Bank for about $16 million to address what it claims is a “potential conflict of interest”.