Everyone reading this is familiar with the concept of digital banks. From the consumer’s perspective, the concept is straightforward: use your phone to open an account, make transfers and payments, take out loans, and do anything else that you would be able to do if you had a “regular” account with a “traditional” bank.
As we have written in this newsletter before, this may be changing our relationship with money. The long-term impact is yet to be seen.
For now, digital banks are being heralded as a way to foster financial inclusion. It is true that this form of banking reaches a population that was previously left out of the conventional financial network. The question, then, is what benefits these consumers may glean by being “included” in a system that previously rejected them.
Khamila spoke with Jean Fernandes, the chief financial officer of GXS Bank, a digital bank formed by Grab and Singtel in Singapore. GXS will integrate with Grab’s app, and the millions of people who are already using Grab and Singtel’s services will be natural customers of GXS, if the companies manage to convince them to sign up.
Check out Khamila’s coverage here.