ANEXT Bank, a digital wholesale bank based in Singapore and owned by Ant Group in its entirety, announced its soft launch today. The soft launch came after MAS gave the go-ahead for operations to start on June 2, 2022. The Singapore-based digital bank will focus on providing digital financial services to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in Singapore and the surrounding area, especially those that work across borders to grow and expand around the world.
Ms. Toh Su Mei, the CEO of ANEXT Bank and a banking industry veteran of more than 20 years, said about the soft launch, “We think it’s time to give growing businesses the next generation of financial services that are easy to use and accessible.” In response to the fast growth of the digital economy, business models are changing and shifting to become digital-first or hybrid. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) do most of their business online, so financial services need to change to meet them there.
“We are well positioned to live up to this vision by using Ant Group’s deep bench of technologies and know-how, along with our customer-obsessed local team that is dedicated to serving the SME community.” We believe in working together with industry partners and the public sector to make financial services for SMEs easier, safer, and more rewarding. We do this by taking an open and collaborative approach.“
At the soft launch of the bank, Mr. Sopnendu Mohanty, who is the Chief Fintech Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), was there. Mr. Mohanty said, “This is yet another important step in Singapore’s journey to develop digital banks. This is a strategic move to make sure the banking sector stays modern, globally competitive, and alive. ” Singapore’s financial sector will grow even more as a result of digital banks’ new features and the fact that they are always getting better. MAS hopes that the digital banks will do well and work well with our dynamic financial institutions. They should also raise the bar for high-quality financial services and help Singapore’s financial sector grow so that it can better support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore, the region, and emerging markets.
ANEXT Bank also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Proxtera, an organisation backed by MAS, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and private sector organisations. Proxtera’s goal is to transform and enable holistic cross-border trade among SMEs and businesses by making marketplaces efficient and easy to find around the world, with built-in financing, fulfilment services, and SME empowerment.
Under the terms of the MoU, both organisations will work together to build and set up an open framework that all participating financial institutions can use to help SMEs and global trading platforms get financing and reduce risks. ANEXT Bank will also be the first digital wholesale bank to join Proxtera in Singapore. It will be the first to offer financing options to buyers and sellers on the Proxtera network.
