Grab-Singtel, Sea get Singapore’s digital bank license, Ant wins wholesale bank license

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has awarded new digital full bank (DFB) licenses to two applicants: Sea Group, and a consortium involving Grab Holdings and Singtel.

Photo credit: Monetary Authority of Singapore

Meanwhile, a digital wholesale bank (DWB) license was granted to the Ant Group as well as a consortium comprising Greenland Financial Holdings, Linklogis Hong Kong, and Beijing Co-operative Equity Investment Fund Management.

“MAS applied a rigorous, merit-based process to select a strong slate of digital banks. We expect them to thrive alongside the incumbent banks and raise the industry’s bar in delivering quality financial services, particularly for currently underserved businesses and individuals, ” said managing director Ravi Menon.

In June, MAS announced that it will issue “up to” two DFB licenses and three DWB licenses. There were a total of 14 eligible applicants, Singapore’s central bank said in a statement.

Shortly after the announcement, the Grab-Singtel consortium appointed Charles Wong as chief executive of its digital bank. Around 200 people will be hired for the team by the end of 2021 for roles in product, data, technology, risk, finance, and compliance, among others.

Wong has more than 20 years of industry experience, and spent nearly five years in his last role as Citigroup’s retail banking head in Singapore. He also held roles in strategy, global markets, wealth management, bancassurance, lending, product development, and marketing at the bank.

“We have 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,” said Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel’s group CEO-designate in a statement.

The Grab-Singtel digital bank will further their goal to “empower more people to gain better control of their money and achieve better economic outcomes for themselves, their businesses and families,” added Anthony Tan, group CEO and co-founder of Grab.

MAS expects the new digital banks to commence operations in early 2022.

The newly selected players will provide retail customers with services such as assisting them in opening accounts and making deposits as well as in applying for debit and credit cards. However, the digital banks will not have a physical presence; all transactions will be made online.

Meanwhile, Razer Fintech, one of the companies that didn’t make MAS’ final cut, said that it plans to roll out Razer Youth Bank in markets such as Malaysia and the Philippines, where digital banking application processes are expected to kickstart in the near term.

The fintech firm is also looking at regions such as the Middle East, Europe, or Latin America, “where regulators are similarly supportive of innovation in the banking sector.”

Update (December 4, 8:45 p.m. SGT): This article was updated to include the appointment of the Grab-Singtel consortium’s new CEO and its plan to hire 200 people.