ANEXT Bank, a digital wholesale bank incorporated in Singapore and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ant Group, was launched in June 2022 with a mission to serve the underserved financing needs of SMEs, and to make financial services accessible and effortless for them.
One year on, the bank is staying true to its mission with its customer base reflecting its efforts to positively impact the region’s MSMEs, including:
1. Serving the underserved
- Earning trust with digital financial solutions, with 65% of its customers being Micro Businesses (MSMEs), while the rest are SMEs
- ANEXT Business Loan addresses the difficulty of small business owners’ access to financing, to manage day-to-day operations or grow their business
o 51% of loan customers are micro businesses
o The lowest loan amount is S$5,000
2. Empowering business owners to grow in the digital economy
- With a focus on supporting those engaged in cross-border businesses, ANEXT counts wholesale trade and retail trade as amongst the top three industries it serves
- Supporting their global ambitions
o ANEXT has seen a 20% month-on-month increase in cross-border transactions
o 30% of ANEXT’s customers are foreign business owners who are operating businesses in Singapore
- Giving them the confidence to go digital
o 33% are new businesses who have been incorporated for less than 2 years
o 24% are mature businesseswho have been incorporated for more than 10 years
o 36% are female-owned businesses
o Enabling business owners across generations – with the youngest customer being 19 years old and the oldest customer being 86 years old
3. Making financial services accessible and effortless
- Currently, the ANEXT Programme for Industry Specialists has 2 partners, all with an aim to make access to financing more seamless for MSMEs where they are doing business at
- Making banking simple and secure
o Average time spent setting up an ANEXT Business Account is less than it takes to cook cup noodle so
o Added peace of mind with three-factor authentication (3FA), using facial verification to authenticate account set up and for every transaction made
Commenting on this milestone, Toh Su Mei, Chief Executive Officer, ANEXT Bank, said: “When we launched ANEXT Bank, we were very clear on serving the underserved needs of SMEs by ensuring we remain customer-obsessed and building an open ecosystem with like-minded partners. We are very thankful for the progress we have made, which would not have been possible without the commitment from our team members, and the strong support and trust by our customers, partners, regulators and parent company. Looking ahead, we’re doubling down on our mission to reimagine financial services for financial inclusion and unlock more opportunities for innovation and value creation to support SMEs’ growth ambitions.”
To date, ANEXT Bank has introduced five key products and services including the ANEXT Business Account, ANEXT Business Loan , ANEXT Fixed Deposit, ANEXT Programme for Industry Specialists and the recently launched SME Friends of ANEXT - an initiative for the bank to deepen engagement with the SME community to shape the digital bank of tomorrow together.
APPENDIX
More details on ANEXT’s products and services
- ANEXT Business Account – A dual-currency deposit account that is free to set up with no maintenance or minimum balance fees, and rewards SMEs with daily interest on account balances. ANEXT Bank is the first bank in Singapore to make available remote virtual onboarding for those based overseas with a registered business in Singapore, helping them set up their business with ease, reducing time and expense.
- ANEXT Business Loan – First announced at the Singapore FinTech Festival in November 2022 and open to all SMEs in Q2 of 2023, the ANEXT Business Loan is a fuss-free and flexible unsecured financing solution of up to S$300,000 with flexible repayment options. The minimum loan amount available starts at S$5,000 and no document submission is required for loans under S$30,000.
- ANEXT Fixed Deposit – Recently launched, it is an effortless and accessible way for SMEs to grow their business funds, from as little as US$5,000 with flexible tenures as short as one month. As part of reimagining traditional financial solutions to better serve SMEs’ needs, such as the need for cashflow, it offers them greater flexibility compared to committing to it for longer periods, which is the norm.
- ANEXT Programme for Industry Specialists – The programme aims to make digital financial services more accessible through embedded financing solutions, so SMEs can access and manage their financing wherever they do business. It is open to the participation of all e-commerce marketplaces, fintech companies and digital solutions providers who support SMEs’ cross-border operations through digital-based services or platforms.
- SME Friends of ANEXT – An initiative by ANEXT to better understand the challenges SMEs face and reimagine financial services together. To start off, ANEXT introduced the NEXTGEN Mavericks of 2023, and invited 8 business owners of different expertise and experience to share their stories, challenges and pain points. Hear their stories here: SME Friends of ANEXT
