A unit of one of Southeast Asia’s largest technology groups is exploring the development of a broader regional digital banking network, with Singapore serving as its operational and strategic base. MariBank, the digital banking arm of Sea Limited, is positioning the city-state as a launchpad for innovation, talent development, and strategy while adapting its model to other markets in the region.
MariBank’s chief executive, Natalia Goh, has indicated that the institution aims to leverage expertise gained in Singapore and apply it elsewhere, beginning with the Philippines.
As first reported by Fortune, the bank now views Singapore’s mature financial environment as ideal for refining products and approaches that can later be localized.
Goh has described the Philippines as an initial step toward creating a regional digital banking group headquartered in Singapore, while remaining open to additional markets without specifying them.
A key motivation stems from gaps in the local market.
Research by MariBank found that roughly one in three business owners in Singapore continue to rely on personal bank accounts for their companies’ financial needs.
This practice is often driven by efforts to avoid elevated transaction costs associated with traditional business accounts.
However, mixing personal and commercial finances can create complications during tax filing, making it harder to accurately calculate profits and claim legitimate deductions.
In response, MariBank offers a business account featuring zero transaction fees and a unified mobile application that allows users to switch easily between personal and business banking.
Goh has highlighted these features as addressing underserved requirements that established local and international banks have not fully met, creating opportunities for the digital player.
MariBank began operations in Singapore in 2023 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sea, the company behind platforms such as Shopee and the financial services arm formerly known as SeaMoney (now Monee). Goh took the helm in 2024.
The bank is one of several digital institutions licensed after Singapore’s monetary authority enabled standalone digital banking licenses in 2019.
These fully online banks operate without physical branches, aiming to increase access and competition in the sector.
Profitability remains a challenge across Singapore’s digital banks.
MariBank reported a larger loss in 2025 compared with the prior year, while peer GXS also continued to post significant deficits. Only Trust Bank has achieved profitability so far.
Digital banks face a five-year window from launch to demonstrate a viable path to profits, prompting Sea to inject additional capital into MariBank earlier this year to support scaling.
Both MariBank and GXS are expanding into less mature markets such as Malaysia and the Philippines to accelerate growth.
MariBank entered the Philippines after Sea acquired a rural bank and recently received an upgraded digital banking license from the Philippine central bank.
In that market, the bank is adapting to higher cash usage by piloting cash-in and cash-out partnerships with retail outlets—something unnecessary in largely cashless Singapore.
It also draws on Shopee transaction data to assess creditworthiness where formal credit histories are limited.
Goh has emphasized that Singapore will remain the center for product knowledge, innovation, and strategic direction.
Insights from Sea’s e-commerce and payments ecosystems inform banking offerings, which are seen as a logical extension of users’ digital activities. The overarching goal, she notes, is to deliver banking that is simple, reliable, and rewarding across all markets the group enters.