Can digital banks help Singaporeans to invest more?

WITH the start of a new decade, diverse groups of companies have submitted their applications for the digital bank licences in the hopes of securing their places in the pantheon of Singapore's pioneering virtual banks.

The initiative by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is a timely one, as Singaporeans are no strangers to fintech solutions. Having seen a wave of mobile wallets hit the market in 2018, in 2019, nearly two out of three (65 per cent) consumers have expressed interest in opening digital bank accounts, compared to just half (52 per cent) of them the previous year. What this spells for Singaporeans in 2020 is an upheaval in a traditional, slow-moving financial industry.

However, while consumers anticipate a new wave of banking that meets their evolving, digital lifestyles, the industry has yet to fully crystallise how these services will actually give us what we want in our money and if digital banks are the only way to get there.