To create a more vibrant banking scene, 3 digital banks currently operate in Singapore. Unlike traditional banks, they operate entirely online without any physical branches.
Customers of the 3 digital banks can manage their finances through an app, which is backed up by a 24/7 helpline Often, these digital banks do not impose any minimum balance requirement for their savings accounts.
GXS Bank (GXS), a consortium backed by Grab Holdings and Singtel, first began offering its services to a select group of people on 31 August 2022. It claims to have a potential market size of roughly 3 million customers across the Grab and Singtel ecosystems. GXS claims to have only recently cleared a backlog of waitlisted customers in opening up an account with them, and will soon be accepting on-demand account opening.
Trust Bank (Trust), backed by Standard Chartered Bank and FairPrice Group, launched its services on 1 September 2022. It is banking on leveraging an ecosystem with a potential daily market of about 1 million customers.
MariBank, owned by Singapore tech giant Sea Group, began rolling out its services to employees of Sea Group in the third quarter of 2022. MariBank is now available to the public since 14 March 2023.
With these three banks attracting customers in different ecosystems, here’s what you need to know if you are keen on opening a digital bank account with one of them.
Read Also: History Of Banking In Singapore: How We Ended Up With The 3 “Big” Banks For Consumers
Full Bank Digital Licence Vs Full Bank Licence
GXS and MariBank were the two successful applicants that were awarded digital full bank (DFB) licences by the MAS in December 2020. The DFB licences were granted based on the applicants’ business models’ value proposition, their potential to run a responsible and long-term digital banking business, their growth prospects, and their other contributions to Singapore’s financial centre. These banks would have restrictions in their first one to two years of operation, such as their deposits being capped at $50 million and an initial paid-up capital of $15 million.
On the other hand, Trust has a full bank licence, which allows it to offer a full suite of banking products similar to traditional banks. Standard Chartered Bank, which has a 60% ownership in Trust, was awarded the “Significantly Rooted Foreign Bank” (SRFB) privileges in 2020, which paved the way for establishing Trust Bank with a full bank licence. So, even though Trust is a digital bank, it can offer more banking services, such as cash withdrawals from ATMs in Singapore that are owned by Trust or Standard Chartered Bank.
Nevertheless, the Deposit Insurance Scheme, which is run by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC), protects Singapore dollar deposits in all three banks for up to $100,000. This is the same amount of protection that you would receive on your deposits with traditional banks.
Read Also: Complete Guide To Trust Bank’s Products And Services
Target Audience Market: Who Can Sign Up?
Though the three banks may want to attract a wide customer base, their initial priority would be to leverage their own ecosystems.
GXS aims to improve the banking services offered to the unbanked and underserved segments, such as entrepreneurs, gig economy workers, and early-jobbers. It also touts itself as a Gen Z bank and seeks to provide its customers with hyper-personalised support as their banking needs and expectations change over time.
Anyone above 16 years old who has a residential address in Singapore and a Singpass Myinfo account can apply for an account with GXS. However, there is still a process to register on a waitlist for the public who wants to open a GXS Savings Account.
Whereas, Trust Bank intends to leverage on NTUC and its unions, as well as its other social enterprises beyond FairPrice Group, to bring significant savings on everyday living expenses and better address the needs of workers and their families. Trust also claims to offer a differentiated customer experience that is built specifically for Singapore. Anyone aged 18 and above can apply for a Trust savings account, including foreigners.
MariBank intends to be deeply integrated into Singapore’s digital economy with young consumers and SMEs through its three platforms: Shopee, Garena, and SeaMoney. For now, MariBank has rolled out its services for Singapore citizens or permanent residents who are aged 18 and above.
Read Also: [2023 Edition] NTUC Membership: Complete Guide To All The Benefits You Will Receive
Savings Account: How Much Interest Can You Earn?
Though Trust Bank offers the most products, which include a savings account, Trust Credit Card, Instant Loan and Balance Transfer, as well as travel insurance, we will only compare the savings accounts in this article. GXS offers the GXS Savings Account and Debit Card, as well as a FlexiLoan and Balance Transfer, while MariBank offers its Mari Savings Account, Mari Credit Card and Mari Invest for personal use, as well as Mari Business Account and Mari Business Loan for businesses.
GXS is offering a base 2.38% per annum (p.a.) interest accrued daily on the main savings account. You can also allocate your savings in up to 8 different pockets (also known as Saving Pockets) to save for different goals. These pockets will act as fixed deposits, earning higher interest of up to 2.68% p.a. each, accrued daily. However, there is a total deposit cap of $75,000 across the savings account and pockets.
In comparison, you can earn 3.00% (and up to 3.50%) interest p.a. on up to $500,000 in savings with Trust Bank. This comprises of a 1.25% base interest, a spend bonus interest of between 0.5% p.a. (for non-NTUC Union members making 5 eligible purchases with Trust card each month) and 1% (for NTUC Union members who make 5 eligible purchases with Trust card each month), a balance bonus rate of 0.5% (for maintaining at least $100,000 in average daily balances) and a salary bonus rate of 0.75% (for crediting at least $1,500 monthly salary via GIRO).
On the other hand, MariBank is offering 2.7% p.a (promotional rate till 31 December 2024) accrued daily on its Mari Savings Account for up to $100,000 of deposits. There is no salary crediting needed nor minimum spending necessary to earn the deposit rate.
GXS Bank
Trust Bank
MariBank
Interest Rates
2.38% – Main Account
2.68% – On up to 8 Savings Pocket each
– 1.25% – Base Interest
– 0.5% to 1% – Spend Bonus interest
– 0.5% – Balance Bonus
– 0.75% – Salary Bonus
2.7% (promotional rate till 31 Dec 2024)
Maximum Deposit
$75,000
– Up to $500,000
$100,000
Who Can Sign Up
– At least 16 years old
– have a residential address in Singapore
– have a Singpass Myinfo account
– Have a valid visa
– 18 years and above
– Singaporeans, PRs, Foreigners
– 18 years and above
– Singaporeans, PRs
Nevertheless, all 3 digital banks do not impose any minimum balance or charge their customers any fall-below fees that are typically associated with traditional banks.
Read Also: Best Savings Accounts for Working Adults in Singapore
Mobile App: What Are The Key Features?
The mobile applications of the 3 digital banks can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, while only the MariBank app is also available on Huawei Appgallery.
The GXS app offers a simple and gamified interface that allows you to allocate your savings into personalised pockets for different life goals. It also uses techniques such as visualisation and smart nudges to help its customers develop and sustain a savings habit.
Similarly, the Trust app is also built on state-of-the-art technology, prioritising security when using any of the services on the app. It also allows users to interact 24/7 through the in-app customer service voice and messaging.
Moreover, the Trust app, which you can switch between in English and Mandarin, enables you to see your Linkpoints rebates in real-time and redeem other coupons easily with its in-app spend tracker. You can also control your debit or credit card using the app and see all your transactions, including up to the past 7 years of monthly statements.
Lastly, the MariBank app offers a simple and easy-to-use interface and adopts security tools and processes, including industry-standard encryption, identity verification, and fraud monitoring. The app is currently only available in English and allows you to access up to two years’ worth of transaction details.
Sign-Up Perks
It is common for new businesses or entrants to an existing market to offer enticing sign-up rewards as a way to quickly gain market share.
In that respect, consumers would have been disappointed by the lack of incentives dangled by both GXS and MariBank. One reason could be that both digital banks are not prepared to launch their services to the masses, as they’re only being rolled out to a small group of users on an invitation-only basis. A second reason could be due to the DFB framework, which doesn’t let digital banks engage in value-destructive competition to gain market share.
Choose Your Savings Account Based On Your Needs
Each of the three banks seeks to serve a different target market by having unique value propositions, which could be useful if you fall into one of these groups.
The Trust Bank might be more relatable to many of us who shop at FairPrice Group. Trust not only offers attractive interest rates on its savings account on a larger deposit balance of $500,000 but also helps reduce our everyday living expenses with its tie-up with the NTUC Linkpoints Rewards system. Moreover, the current enticing sign-up deals could be a big draw for many to start using its services over those of other digital banks.
On the other hand, with the recent changes, GXS, which has reduced its promotional interest rate, offers depositors as much as 2.68% p.a. interest on their savings of up to $75,000. To enjoy this higher interest rate, users must create and deposit funds into their savings pockets, as the main account only earns 2.38% interest p.a. A recent conversation with the GXS team indicated that consumers in Singapore can look forward to more products and services by 4Q 2024, and one hint dropped was a potential dedicated savings account for students.
Lastly, MariBank offers an attractive interest rate of 2.7% and has a maximum deposit cap of $100,000. Moreover, it also offers relevant investing and business banking products for customers.
Read Also: Why My Wife And I Decided To Grow Our Savings With Mari Invest
Featured Image Credit: Giovanni Lidya/DollarsAndSense
This article was originally published on 14 September 2022 and updated with new information.
The post GXS Bank Vs Trust Bank Vs MariBank: Which Digital Bank Should You Choose? appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
