Four licences to operate digital banks in Singapore have been awarded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today.
A consortium comprising Grab Holdings and Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) has clinched a digital full bank licence.
An entity wholly-owned by Sea has also secured a digital full bank licence.
Meanwhile, a consortium comprising Greenland Financial Holdings Group, Linklogis Hong Kong and Beijing Co-operative Equity Investment Fund Management has clinched a digital wholesale bank licence.
And an entity wholly-owned by Ant Group has also secured a digital wholesale bank licence.
According to MAS, a full digital bank can take deposits from retail customers.
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However, a wholesale digital bank is catered towards non-retail customers, such as small and medium enterprises.
The central bank says that the successful applicants must meet all relevant prudential requirements and licensing preconditions before it grants them their respective banking licences.
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MAS expects the new digital banks to commence operations from early 2022.
In June, MAS shortlisted 14 digital bank applicants out of 21.
Forrest Li, chairman and group CEO of Sea, says the company’s mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses through technology.
“As a proudly homegrown company, we look forward to further contributing to the long-term development of our nation’s digital economy, creating more employment opportunities in Singapore, and empowering our whole community to thrive in the digital era,” he adds.
Sea says that via its three platforms – Shopee, Garena, and SeaMoney – is already deeply integrated into Singapore’s digital economy with young consumers and SMEs.
Its digital bank will draw on insights about the needs of these users introduce products, and services that will improve the lives of the targeted customer group and also help drive Singapore's digital economy.
Anthony Tan, group CEO and co-founder of Grab, believes that with Singtel’s combined experience in meeting the everyday needs of Singaporeans, as well as Grab’s deep tech expertise and data-driven insights, the digital bank will further the joint venture’s goal to empower more people to gain better control of their money and achieve better economic outcomes for themselves, their businesses and families.
Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel's group CEO-designate, says that the joint venture has the combined digital expertise and deep customer knowledge, the assets and the synergies to make banking more accessible and intuitive, to deliver much-needed product simplicity, speed and affordability to consumers and enterprises.
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“As a homegrown company, we look forward to contributing to this exciting digital era of finance for Singapore that will drive greater value creation, build new careers and develop a strong Singaporean core of fintech talent for the industry,” he says.
Grab and Singtel aims to launch the bank in early 2022 and is gearing up to fill around 200 positions. The bank will be headed by Charles Wong, who was with Citigroup, where he was head of its retail banking in Singapore.
“An opportunity such as today, where we are entrusted to develop a digital bank from scratch, is truly rare. We will redefine banking by building a sustainable business focused on out-serving Singapore with personalised, accessible and trusted financial products,” says Wong.
