Singtel and Grab have joined hands to apply for a digital full banking licence in Singapore. In a joint statement, the companies announced that they will form a consortium with Grab taking a 60 percent stake and Singtel 40 percent.Both companies are venturing beyond their core businesses of telecommunicaions (Singtel) and ride-hailing (Grab).
According to the joint statement, the digital bank will aim to cater to the needs of digital-first consumers, who have come to expect greater convenience and personalisation, and SMEs which cite lack of access to credit as a key pain point.
“In the past two years, we have launched and scaled financial services such as e-money, lending and insurance distribution into Southeast Asia’s largest fintech ecosystem. The natural next step is to build a truly customer-centric digital bank that will deliver a variety of banking and financial services that are accessible, transparent and affordable,” said Reuben Lai, Senior Managing Director of Grab Financial Group.
“Just as we’ve been building an ecosystem of digital services to improve the way customers live, work and play, we want to fundamentally change the way consumers and enterprises bank. Together with Grab, which has extensive digital expertise and experience in this region, we have a formidable set of assets and significant synergies to make banking more accessible and intuitive, and deliver much-needed product simplicity, speed and affordability,” said Arthur Lang, CEO of Singtel’s International Group.
Entelechy Asia 