CASE STUDY: NEW DIGITAL BANKING IN SOUTH AFRICA The past decade has seen major digital transformations for most industries (if not all indus tries). In the banking sector, due to the data-intensive and time-sensitive nature of its oper ations, the digital transformation has put enormous pressure on innovation. It is the highest priority (and challenge) for banks to improve and expand business processes continually with digital adoption. If banks do not keep up with the digital transformation, they.com very quickly become obsolete owing to intense competition from players around the world TymeBank, owned by African Rainbow Capital Investments (ARC Investments), is South Africa's first digital bank to be launched, with an EveryDay transaction account on which DECISION MAKING no monthly bank charges are payable. What is a digital bank? Everything happens on e with no physical bank branches. TymeBank works in partnership with Pick n Pay and Boxer supermarkets, providing physical spaces (through kiosks) for the bank's clients to line access these banking services. At most Pick n Pay and Boxer stores there is a TymeBank minibank. It consumers experience problems, they can contact TymeBank directly or go to their nearest Pick n Pay or Boxer store where there is a trained employee ready to help every day. At these stations, consumers can use Wi-Fi at no extra cost, which the consumers total banking costs even further. Consumers have to pay for online banking at other banks at their own expense. There are no monthly bank charges and consumers work on a pay-as-you bank system which basically means that there are no monthly bank account fees but there is an administrative fee, R2 per deposit and R4 per withdrawal at o other banks' ATMs. TymeBank has seen a huge opportunity in the market, not only for affordable banking, but also for accessible banking. TymeBank's mission is: To make meaningful financial inclusion by making banking more accessible to all South Africans. Thus, TymeBank seeks to make banking more accessible to the lower class and even those who are between professions, currently unemployed or do not have a formal address. Since February, with the launch of TymeBank in the South African market, to date they hove opened accounts for more than 330 000 consumers. Of these consumers, 26% are between the ages of 36 and 45 and 14% are between 46 and 55 years old. These figures indicate that it is not only the youth who use this new technology. For the most part, consumers opened accounts at the Pick n Pay or Boxer stores' kiosks (78%), while 22% opened accounts online through the bank's website. website. This process is incredibly simplified by using eFica. TymeBank only needs an ID to open a TymeBank bank account a consumer logs in online through the TymeBank number and a cellphone number for verification purposes. To activate and obtain the debit card, the customer must go to the nearest Pick n Pay or Boxer store with a TymeBank kiosk. The customer must take his or her cellphone with the number registered on the website to the kiosk. At the kiosk, fingerprints must be scanned, the account verified and then the machine at the kiosk prints the debit card (free) with all the customer's details. This whole process takes less than 10 minutes (although Pick n Pay states in their marketing commu nications that it takes 5 minutes), online registration takes about 3 minutes and fingerprint scanning, verification and card printing take about 4 minutes. After that, a customer can download the application from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. If a customer has a SmartShopper loyalty card at Pick n Pay, he or she will receive double points when the TymeBank bank card is used as a payment method.

Question 1

To start Tyme bank, what type of decision did African Rainbow Capital Investments (ARC Investments) make and under what condition is this decision typically made? Motivate your answer