GXS acquires Validus’ Singapore unit in business banking push

Photo credit: GXS Bank

GXS Bank announced on Monday that it has acquired digital lending platform Validus Group’s Singapore business (Validus Capital).

The all-cash transaction – the amount of which was not disclosed – is expected to be completed by April 15. The acquisition includes Validus Capital’s Singapore customer base, partnerships, technology stack, and employees.

The unit has disbursed more than US$1 billion in supply chain financing and working capital loans to SMEs since its inception in 2015.

“Validus Group will continue to be headquartered in Singapore and will redouble our commitment to our core markets in Indonesia (where we operate under the brand Batumbu) and Thailand where the untapped addressable markets are much larger and deeper,” said Nikhilesh Goel, Validus co-founder and group CEO.

Vishal Shah, group head of business banking at GXS, noted that acquiring Validus Capital over other similar fintech platforms boiled down to a few factors. One was the platform’s presence in the region, and another was Validus’ receptiveness to a potential acquisition.

Validus’ credit models and data also impressed GXS during the due diligence process. The addition of the firm’s loan portfolio will boost the digital bank’s current SME loan book as well.

“What we are acquiring and (whatever) loans we have already booked in the last four months since we did our soft launch, we are looking to grow 5x in the next three years,” added Shah.

GXS launched its business banking services in the first quarter of 2025. Currently, this is limited to offering interest-bearing accounts and its FlexiLoan product.

The digital bank has more than 400 business banking customers, which it says it acquired organically.

GXS is targeting a full launch of its business banking services in the third quarter of 2025, with offerings for SMEs of different sizes.

“Through Validus Capital, we can offer short-term and medium-term working capital loans, and (more) importantly, trade finance so we are pretty complete when it comes to lending,” said Shah.

The right one

To acquire an existing platform, GXS had to consider one criterion: the business it would acquire had to have “the right synergy, reputation on the market, and already serving the segment” that GXS was looking to target.

GXS is not eyeing more acquisition targets for its business banking growth for now, but it is open to partnerships with fintech firms serving SMEs in Singapore and Malaysia. The digital bank is building out its offerings to become an embedded bank, which integrates financial services into platforms of non-financial services.