Grab Holdings Ltd.’s upstart digital bank started accepting larger deposits in Singapore, suggesting the city-state’s regulator has increased the limit it had previously placed on the company.
(Bloomberg) — Grab Holdings Ltd.’s upstart digital bank started accepting larger deposits in Singapore, suggesting the city-state’s regulator has increased the limit it had previously placed on the company.
GXS Bank, the digibank joint venture of Grab and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., said in an email to customers on Wednesday that they can now each deposit up to S$75,000 ($57,000) into a savings account. The limit previously was S$5,000.
The change signals that the Monetary Authority of Singapore has raised the deposit cap of S$50 million it had placed on digital banks backed by tech firms, like GXS. That would be a boon for GXS’s push to compete with traditional banks in the wealthy city-state.
Singapore’s new digital banks backed by Grab and Sea Ltd. have been pushing the country’s central bank to lift restrictions that they see as curbing their lending ability. The tech companies are expanding to financial services to fuel growth beyond businesses such as online retailing and ride-hailing.
The MAS has said the deposit cap during the lenders’ first two years of operation is meant to safeguard consumers’ interests.
–With assistance from Chanyaporn Chanjaroen.
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