Singapore’s GXS Bank launches with savings product for the underbanked

Singapore-based digital banking challenger GXS Bank has officially launched with a savings account the first product on offer.

GXS Bank launches in Singapore with savings product

GXS is backed by super-app Grab and telco Singtel, who were awarded a full digital banking licence almost two years ago by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Singapore CEO of GXS, Charles Wong, says the Grab and Singtel platforms are “used daily by more than three million Singaporeans” and claims the “frequent interactions between consumers and the platforms within our ecosystem provide us with deeper and sharper insights on what our customers need”.

In particular, the digital bank wants to address the pain points of the two in five Singapore residents who are currently underbanked.

The GXS Savings Account is aimed at gig economy workers, self-employed entrepreneurs and early-jobbers, enabling them to earn interest daily.

The savings product has no minimum balance requirement and also features Pockets, allowing users to portion out their savings into different pots, which incorporate behavioural science techniques such as nudges and visualisations to encourage saving habits.

GXS is also the first digital bank in Singapore to be awarded the Data Protection Trustmark by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

The company says it has built a data infrastructure that enables it to analyse data swiftly and generate extensive and meaningful insights in order to develop, refine and iterate new features and services.

“Over the coming months, we will also tackle other obstacles that hinder consumers and small businesses from reaching their goals sooner, such as growing their wealth or accessing credit,” Wong adds.

The news comes as fellow digital challenger Trust Bank, backed by a partnership between Standard Chartered Bank and FairPrice Group, also officially launched in Singapore this week.