First to profits calls dibs

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In focus

For this edition, we cover:

• Frontrunners in Singapore’s digital banking race to profits
• A flashback to when the TikTok Shop-Tokopedia merger was first announced

Hello reader,

On a recent day trip to Johor Bahru, a friend of mine flashed her Trusty (pun intended) blue credit card as she paid at cafes and other retailers at the mall.

Everyone else in the group was using other multicurrency and bank cards.

To be honest, there’s little difference between one service and another these days, at least in Singapore. Assessing competitive exchange rates on a card was a rarity just a few years ago but is now commoditized.

That applies to savings accounts as well, with digital banks more or less matching each other’s interest rates.

Whichever ecosystem you’re in, companies hope you’ll stick. That’s why they’re offering an expanding suite of services such as trading features, wealth products, insurance, and lifestyle perks.

Today’s visual story by my colleague Duc Tran compares Singapore’s various digital bank players and their financial performance in 2024 across a range of metrics.

The story makes comparisons to their 2023 performance and paints a picture of how much closer they’re progressing toward profitability.

Because at the end of the day, the ones that matter in the years to come are the ones that are still here.

Melissa Goh, senior editor

The Big Story

Singapore’s digital banking battle in 8 charts

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