Green Link Digital Bank (GLDB), received one of Singapore’s two wholesale digital banking licenses. In a press release Friday, The bank said it is targeting commercial banking for micro-small-medium enterprises (MSMEs) with supply-chain financing and technology services.
Onboarding will be done in stages as they ramp up, and among the services provided will be business term loans using digital tokens that won’t require collateral
Song Qun, vice chairman of GLDB, said the bank aimed to use its experience serving MSMEs in Singapore to become the leading supply-chain finance technology service provider.
“We will continue to explore the application of advanced technologies such as AI, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data (ABCD) in supply chain finance, incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into our product development and growth strategies, and create a digital banking industry benchmark, contribute to the Singapore market, and realize sustainable growth”
Back in 2020 the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) awarded four digital banking licenses.
Digital full bank (DFB) licenses were issued to a consortium comprising Grab and Singtel, and an entity wholly owned by Sea, while the wholesale bank license winners were a consortium including Greenland Financial Holding and, Linklogis Hong Kong, and an entity wholly owned by Ant Group.
Soft Launches
In Singapore, digital full banks are allowed to take deposits from retail customers, while digital wholesale banks can cater to the monetary needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The MAS had originally expected operations at the digital banks to start early this year. The Grab-Singtel consortium, called GXS Bank, is targeting a launch in the second half of this year.
