Ryan Swano
TymeBank South Africa has begun a new chapter with Cheslyn Jacobs being appointed as the Chief Executive Officer, having taken up the role on 1 January 2026 after more than a decade with the digital bank. His appointment marks a significant milestone for a leader whose journey from humble beginnings to the upper echelons of South African fintech exemplifies resilience, vision, and a deep commitment to financial inclusion.
Jacobs, now 40-years-old, was born and raised in Crawford on the Cape Flats where growing up in a community grappling with economic challenges shaped his early worldview and work ethic. The young Cheslyn Jacobs didn’t have things easy, but growing up with his grandparents, who, during the Apartheid era, were among the Coloured and Black families forcibly removed from District 6, anchored him against the challenges of life on the Cape Flats.
Finding Power in Learning What You Don’t Want to Be
He openly speaks on the Milk+Sugar Podcast about the reasons for growing up with his grandparents was that living with his father was a going to be risk that his grandparents wanted to keep him and his siblings from.
“He was into gangsterism, drugs, alcohol, all of that, and therefore, we couldn’t grow up in that environment. You know, it’s almost a guaranteed recipe to disaster, exposing kids to that on a daily and our grandparents took us in for that.”
People often ask him if he bears a grudge against his father, but Cheslyn Jacobs has a different outlook about his father’s effect on his life.
“I think he’s taught me so much things that very few of us choose to learn, and that was what I don’t want to be.”
“I think having a very clear picture of that definitely helps inform the path you want to take.”
It is that outlook on life that kept Cheslyn Jacobs from making ‘wrong choices’ that saw some of his classmates at Belgravia High School turn to gangsterism and drugs.
Cheslyn also proudly says that in the end, his father’s life turned around. “It’s nice that when my dad passed, he was a pastor, kind of a full 360 on his life”.
From Food Delivery Runs to Running TymeBank
Cheslyn Jacobs worked his first job in food delivery, earning a modest salary that he shared with his grandparents and diligently saved a portion of; experiences he later reflected on as foundational to his understanding of money and purpose.
After matriculating from Belgravia High School, Cheslyn, who originally wanted to become a doctor, pursued his higher education at the University of the Western Cape, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce in Industrial Psychology. While a student, Jacobs worked as a computer lab assistant. He later continued his academic development with a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) at the University of Pretoria, reinforcing his leadership and strategic management capabilities.
After graduating from UWC, Jacobs had a brief stint working for Safmarine after which he entered the financial services and consulting sectors. He held roles at Standard Bank, where he developed practical experience in retail banking, and at Deloitte, where he built skills in people management and organisational behaviour, and sharpened his advisory skills. His work at Deloitte was particularly transformative; it positioned him to join what would become TymeBank when the innovative digital banking concept was incubated as a consulting project funded by MTN, Pick n Pay, and Boxer.
WATCH Mavericks – Cheslyn Jacobs – Scarce Beginnings to C-Suite – Grit, Banking & Building a Legacy
Leading South Africa’s Fintech Success Story
Jacobs joined Tyme in 2012 as the Sales and Distribution Manager, long before its public launch as TymeBank. He went on to serve as National Operations Manager at Tyme Infield, and in 2019, when TymeBank officially launched its services, he was appointed Head of Sales and Services. His leadership in scaling customer acquisition and shaping distribution channels was pivotal to the bank’s early success. In 2022, Jacobs became Chief Commercial Officer, responsible for driving revenue growth and expanding the institution’s footprint.
Under his commercial leadership, TymeBank grew into one of South Africa’s most remarkable fintech success stories. Since its founding in 2019, the bank has amassed more than 11 million customers, become the first digital bank in Africa to reach profitability, and transformed the banking experience for traditionally underserved communities. Jacobs’ vision has been tied to delivering accessible, affordable banking services that resonate with everyday South Africans.
Cheslyn Jacobs’s leadership has been key to TymeBank’s phenomenal growth, with over 6.4 million customers in just 48 months, making it one of the fastest-growing digital banks globally.
TymeBank has indeed taken some steps in going global by starting GoTymeBank in the Philippines 3 years ago. TymeBank has also expanded its presence in South East Asia in 2023 and 2024, starting operations in Vietnam and Indonesia.
Having appointed Cheslyn Jacobs as their new CEO effective 1 January 2026, means that he will now also oversee TymeBank South Africa’s move to follow a similar branding as the Filipino GoTymeBank and change its name to GoTyme in the first half of 2026.
His Personal Philosophy is Reflected in Business and in His Views on Social Change
Jacobs’ impact extends beyond business metrics. On social media and in public comments, he has consistently emphasised the broader purpose of TymeBank’s mission: expanding financial inclusion, empowering small business owners, and creating opportunities for individuals historically excluded from mainstream financial services. His own life story serves as inspiration for young South Africans who aspire to leadership in sectors once perceived as inaccessible.
Looking ahead as CEO of TymeBank, Cheslyn Jacobs has articulated a commitment to deepening innovation, enhancing customer experience, and scaling sustainable growth. With a leadership philosophy rooted in people-first banking, the new CEO aims to steer TymeBank toward becoming one of the top retail banks in the country, while retaining its founding purpose of reshaping financial access for all. That is also why Cheslyn Jacobs is excited about the development of digital payment systems like Payshap SA.
“I didn’t have a perfect start to life, but it did teach me the perfect lesson: success comes from showing up and giving your best, no matter what. That belief has shaped my life and continues to guide the lessons I teach my children and teams today – effort and persistence matter more than results.” says Cheslyn Jacobs on LinkedIn.
His belief in being “the best version of yourself” is not only what he holds in his family life, but it is what he carries into the boardroom.
Jacobs believes that a leader, whether in business or in their family, should create the platform for their team members to be the best versions of themselves. Jacobs says that leaders should not focus on using people as a means to an end if the end is always about getting the job done.
Following the Etsko Schuitema leadership theory, Jacobs says “It is your job as a leader to use your work as a means to fundamentally change the person you’re working with. So the person is the end.”
He says it is the reason why very few people at TymeBank will say that something is not in their job description is because “they feel that everything we’re doing ultimately helps them become the best versions of themselves”.
His Family is His Biggest Achievement
Cheslyn Jacobs, the new CEO of TymeBank says his biggest achievement in life is his family; being a father to his children Joshua and Kaira, and husband to his wife Janine.
Jacobs said on Milk+Sugar that though he can give his kids many material things he didn’t get as a child, he knows that there are lines to be drawn and knows how and when to say ‘no’.
He says that aside from his love, care and attention, one of the most important things he tries to give his children is access to information, as he believes that, for the future of our nation, education, with access to information, is the biggest improvement South Africa needs to make for this generation of children to have a better future.
To that end, Cheslyn Jacobs is also a board member of Teach The Nation, which is a South African Public Benefit Organisation established in 2020. Their fellowship programme develops instructional education leaders who improve learner outcomes in under-resourced schools.
Jacobs, who says that “a healthy body heals the mind”, is an active triathlete and is also practising to participate in his first marathon in the near future, saying that running helps to clear his mind.
Sadly the Cape Town Marathon of 19 October 2025, for which Jacobs, who lives in Johannesburg, had entered and flew to Cape Town, was cancelled due to strong winds, and he will have to wait for a next big marathon he enters.
He is also an ardent soccer fan. He has attended both home and away matches of his favourite football team, Manchester United, at stadiums in England.
Sitting High With His Feet Firmly On The Ground
Listening to Cheslyn Jacobs speaking in interviews, it is clear that the man who now occupies a main seat in the lofty towers of South African banking, and heads up a global leader in digital banking, has his feet firmly on the ground.
In a financial landscape undergoing digital transformation, Cheslyn Jacobs exemplifies a leader who blends strategic acumen with his lived experience and life lessons from growing up on the Cape Flats, bridging the gap between commercial success and social impact in South African banking.
