“Please, don't call me sir. King Charles hasn’t knighted me yet, so just call me Abet.”
This casual joke from Albert “Abet” Tinio is the perfect icebreaker to start this interview. As we will soon learn, it’s this warm and people-oriented personality that shaped and guided his career, now leading GoTyme Bank as co-CEO and Chief Commercial Officer.
At the time of our chat, it had only been a few days since the official launch of the digital bank, a partnership between the Gokongwei Group and the Singapore-based Tyme Group designed to unlock the financial potential of all Filipinos.
After several months of preparation, GoTyme Bank’s public unveiling was a smash success, leaving Abet to happily exclaim, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”
Banking on Experience
Looking at Abet’s work history over the last decade, it’s hard to believe that he could have been in a completely different field instead. “When I entered university, I wanted to be a chemical engineer like my dad who was my idol. But that was a delusion of grandeur,” laughs Abet.
Realizing that he thrived well in connecting with people, Abet shifted majors and graduated with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of the Philippines. “I know, it’s very different, but I’ve been able to take my people skills and the discipline I learned when I was studying engineering into everything I’ve done later on.”
True enough, with his people-oriented personality, Abet quickly found a calling in sales, rising to become the national sales manager of a global logistics firm. He also joined Globe Telecom in 2007, and was eventually appointed CEO of GCash in 2016, a pioneer in mobile wallet and digital payment technology.
After being at the helm for several years, he felt it was time to move on. “To be honest, I was yearning for something that I could build from the ground up. I wanted to advocate something to really help my fellow Pinoys, which would, at the same time, allow me to leave some sort of personal legacy.”
As fate would have it, Abet would cross paths with one of his peers, Jojo Malolos, the CEO of JG Digital Equity Ventures Inc (JGDEV), and CEO of Data Analytics Ventures Inc. (DAVI), and the two chatted over the possibilities that existed within the Gokongwei Group ecosystem.
Abet was inspired. He joined DAVI in early 2020, and quickly became Robinsons Bank’s Senior Vice President for Digital Payments and Agency Banking Group.
With all the expertise he accumulated over the years – coupled with his desire to make a difference – it soon made perfect sense for him to join GoTyme Bank, one of the six digital banking entities given license by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and a company with a vision for Filipinos Abet was proud to serve.
“In retrospect, I am where I am now because I have a strong perspective of how a bank operates. I saw the inner workings of Robinsons Bank, I got to build my network around it, and reinforced some of the network that I had while leading GCash.”
A smile forms while he adds, “It was Steve Jobs who said it's hard to connect the dots when you're looking forward, but it makes sense when you look back. I guess with what I've been through in my career – sales, operations, general management, etc., all of that adds up to where I am right now.”
Sharing the Load
Abet is quick to admit that sharing CEO duties in the bank with Nathaniel “Nate” Clarke (who also serves as GoTyme’s president) is a unique setup. “When you say CEO, normally, isang tao lang ’yan. But it does make Nate’s job and my job a little bit easier, as we’ve been able to play off each other’s strengths.”
The way Abet describes him, Clarke is the expert when it comes to the digital banking technology and roll-out strategy, having helped Tyme become highly successful in South Africa. GoTyme’s Human Resources department, Finance and Risk, and Chief Technology Officer all report directly to Clarke.
Meanwhile, Abet takes on duties that directly affect customers. “My strength has been around, I would like to say, customer-centricity. So that's my side of being CEO: I have marketing, sales, and customer experience, all front-facing, reporting to me, building strategies around it, and executing around it. Apart from that, I also oversee compliance, legal, and audit.”
Though there’s a clear demarcation of duties, GoTyme’s co-CEOs sometimes have to make decisions that affect the entire organization.
Do they always see eye to eye, we wonder out loud.
Abet replies, “We have a very good relationship where we always discuss things with each other. Are we always on the same page? No, I don't think that would be healthy. We check and balance each other out. It's good to always have those two points of view, so I think that's the best arrangement now, having co-CEOs.”
“You are each other’s devil’s advocate,” we suggest, before Abet jokingly adds, “and an angel on each other’s shoulder!”
Let’s Get Phygital
Launched in late October, GoTyme aims to bring next-level banking to every Filipino. It’s a lofty promise, yes, but Abet is confident that it can be done.
“There has to be somewhere in between a cash-based society and a cashless society, and we call it ‘phygital’. Our view is that digital banks are very well-placed, and GoTyme positions itself here, where we are more convenient than an E-wallet, and we are as safe or even safer than a traditional bank.”
The term “phygital” is also key toward dispelling some common myths about digital banking. “People are familiar with what digital is and what banking is, but when you put the two words together, they start to think, ‘Oh, digital banking means there are no people, it’s all automated.’ That’s where the misconception lies.”
Abet believes that digital banks should be viewed as a means to enable. “We also think very strongly that because you're digital, you don't have to give up that human connection.”
Putting the human element front and center, the GoTyme Bank kiosks that are gradually being established in shopping malls, supermarkets, and other public spaces, will each have a GoTyme ambassador to help customers with the onboarding process or help existing customers with their transactions.
“We're going to be there for you, every step of the way, from onboarding to actual cash-in, cash-out, purchasing, and even post-transaction. If you have questions, you can pick up a phone, or do it via chat, or over email. All those channels marry very quickly into a live agent – not a bot, not an AI. A live agent.”
Building a Legacy
Should GoTyme accomplish its medium-term target of onboarding 5 million clients in three years, Abet would have accomplished his personal goal of building something from the ground up which would be helpful to many Filipinos.
The feedback from the launch has been mostly positive so far, but Abet is aware that the digital product can always be improved moving forward and is very open to customer feedback, even criticism.
“I personally look at it as constructive,” says Abet. “I also think of it as positive because that means they're interested in the product. They're interested in the way it works, and they want to make it work better.”
As the GoTyme team continues to iterate and improve the product, Abet shares that he remains fired up for new challenges every day, inspired by the work ethic he sees from senior Gokongwei Group leaders, primarily Robinsons Retail’s Robina Gokongwei Pe and JG Summit President and CEO Lance Y. Gokongwei.
On a more personal note, Abet shares that he is also inspired by his children. During the pandemic, one of his daughters started her own online learning program when the preschool she was working for had to shut down.
“She put up her own school with the intent to continue the kind of connection and education that younger children needed,” says the father of four. “She built the learning system and interaction online. She's the one who designed it, she's the one who's executing it. The parents of the kids, gosh, they are all for her. And when the kids see her, she’s like their long lost ate. I'm inspired by that kind of thinking and I try to bring that into where I am now.”
Summing up how GoTyme hopes to succeed in its quest to bring greater financial inclusion to more Filipinos, Abet says: “For something to be taken in, to be adopted, you have to build convenience. It has to be easy to use. It has to be friendly, it has to be warm. I think we ticked off that box. Next, people need to have confidence using it. How do you gain the confidence to use it? It has to be safe. It has to be secure. It has to be trusted. We tick off that box.
“And then lastly, will it build communities? I think we're already seeing that. We created a lot of interest even pre-launch, so much so that small groups of people came together online and started calling themselves the GoTyme Users Group, with the intent of helping each other out and looking for the life hacks using GoTyme. I'm 100% convinced that we check off all of those three C's. We are going to make a difference.” – Pierre A. Calasanz
For more information on GoTyme Bank, visit gotyme.com.ph
