Both Singtel and Grab will jointly apply for a digital full banking licence in Singapore, the two companies said on Monday.
The pair in a joint statement said they will establish a consortium with Grab owning 60% and Singtel holding the remainder, with the aim of offering a variety of digital banking services.
This will certainly put pressure on the big 3 banks UOB, DBS and OCBC as digital banks will have less overhead and are more agile.
Singtel is the regions largest telecom operator while Grab is famous for it’s delivery and services. Singtel already has made in roads into digital wallets Singtel Dash years ago. Grab on the other hand is now launching it’s physical Debit card.
Will we be seeing ebanking services with higher interest rates ? Will it eventually overtake traditional banking companies if they don’t evolve ? Something I am quite sure is, we will see banking shares react to this news.