One of the country's fastest-growing banks, GoTyme Bank, announced the acquisition of SAVii, the largest fintech salary lender in the Philippines by its major shareholders JG Summit and Tyme Group, to propel the expansion of its payroll-enabled financial products.

Founded in 2017 by its CEO Liam Grealish with Benoit Portoleau-Balloy and Javier Frasseto, SAVii (previously known as Uploan) has become the market leader for salary lending with a loan book of over P3 billion.

Serving more than 500,000 employees across 150 of the biggest Philippine corporations, it was awarded the Top Employee Benefits Provider in 2022 and 2023 by HR Tech Magazine.

The acquisition of SAVii by GoTyme Bank shareholders is also seen to boost GoTyme's growth trajectory while expediting its path to profitability.

Together, GoTyme Bank and SAVii aim to provide Filipino companies with the best payroll-enabled suite of financial products, helping HR leaders unlock their employees' financial potential with the convenience and security of a bank.

Credit products expansion

By integrating the SAVii credit offering into GoTyme Bank's lending and payroll proposition, the two are poised to capture a significant market share of the employed population in the Philippines.

Last month, GoTyme started offering an earned wage access feature to employees of select companies, enabling 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 Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to expand lending to Filipinos.

"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," said Nate Clarke, GoTyme Bank president and CEO, on behalf of the bank's shareholders.

"For us at SAVii, salary is more than just take-home pay — it's the safest vehicle to financial empowerment. Teaming up with GoTyme Bank was a clear 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. SAVii can now offer a more comprehensive banking proposition to its customers," said SAVii's Grealish.

"GoTyme Bank has always been aware of the persistent challenge of low consumer credit penetration in the Philippines, which has had people turning to informal lenders including some online apps. This acquisition is a pivotal step toward resolving the longstanding issue of limited access to reliable and affordable credit among Filipino consumers," says Clarke.

Clarke added that the partnership with SAVii will open up the simple and beautiful GoTyme banking experience to more companies and their employees.