The Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) is a not-for-profit organisation established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2024 to harness technology and foster innovation for more efficient, resilient, and inclusive financial ecosystems through global partnerships. GFTN organises convening forums, offers advisory services on innovation ecosystems, provides access to transformative digital platforms, and invests in technology startups with the potential for growth and positive social impact through its venture fund.
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Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Tyme
Coen is the CEO and founder of the Tyme Group, a Singapore-headquartered multi-country digital banking group that has amassed 18 million customers in its two banks, TymeBank South Africa (launched in 2019) and GoTyme Bank Philippines (launched in 2022).
Passionate about unlocking human potential through broadening economic participation and financial access, Coen founded Tyme in 2012. Tyme began as a mobile money remittance operator that offered local remittance services. In the process, Tyme developed a core banking system, which enabled its first foray into digital banking through building a low-cost digital bank in Namibia. Tyme was acquired by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) in 2015. Two years later Coen was appointed Group Executive of CBA responsible for its international retail banking and insurance business.
Under Coen’s leadership, Tyme successfully applied for a banking license from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) in 2017, becoming the first to receive a banking license in 20 years. In 2018 Coen led a management buyout of Tyme from CBA. The opportunity arose from CBA’s retreat from emerging markets. TymeBank South Africa was launched in 2019 and has since scaled to 11 million customers, with Tyme also expanding to Southeast Asia in October 2022 with the launch of GoTyme Bank in the Philippines, which has onboarded 7 million customers to date.
Prior to Tyme, Coen served as a Partner in Deloitte’s strategy and innovation practice, and Director of Community Banking at Standard Bank, where he led a strategy to extend banking to underserved consumers, adding digital channels and more than a million additional customers to the bank. He was also previously the CEO of ENS (South Africa’s largest law firm) and a member of Nedcor Investment Bank’s Executive Committee.
Coen holds an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science and two law degrees with honours. He has also held multiple board positions, including in Vietnam International Bank (VIB) and PT Bank Commonwealth in Indonesia, which he chaired until December 2018.
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