Singapura Finance, MatchMove partner for Singapore digibank license: sources

Finance firm Singapura Finance and digital payment startup MatchMove Pay have teamed up for a digital full bank license in Singapore, sources told The Business Times.

However, it is not immediately known if there are more partners in the consortium.

Photo credit: MatchMove

According to the report, Singapura Finance had earlier said that the move was part of its “strategic positioning into the financial technology era.”

A spokesperson for MatchMove told Tech in Asia that the startup is currently not ready to share more details.

Singapura Finance has a minority stake of about 1.6% in MatchMove, which it paid US$5 million for. The deal valued the startup at US$300 million.

Founded in 2009, Singapore-based MatchMove offers clients a digital wallet and a suite of banking services. It is planning to raise US$150 million in an ongoing series C funding round, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced earlier that it has received a total of 21 applications for digital bank licenses, with seven bids for digital full bank licenses and 14 for digital wholesale licenses.

See also: Singapore’s digital bank contenders: Who they are and what they bring to the table

Grab and Singtel-led consortium, Razer Fintech’s group, V3 Group-led Beyond, and Enigma Group’s consortium have unveiled their applications for the digital full bank licenses, which would allow them to take deposits from and provide banking services to retail and non-retail customers. The license requires applicants to have an eventual capital requirement of S$1.5 billion (US$1.1 billion).

Currency converted from Singapore dollar to US dollar: US$1 = S$1.35.