Sea-owned digital bank says one in three Singapore business owners still use personal accounts, while it pushes toward profitability and expands in the Philippines.
MariBank is pitching zero-fee business banking to underserved small companies in Singapore while using the Philippines as its next growth market, even as losses deepen at its home operation. A survey cited by the Sea-owned digital bank found one in three Singaporean business owners still rely on personal bank accounts for company finances to avoid transaction fees, a practice MariBank says can create tax and legal complications. Chief executive Natalia Goh said the lender is trying to fill gaps left by established local and international banks with a business account that charges no transaction fees and allows users to switch between personal and business banking in one app. MariBank launched in 2023 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sea and is one of five Singapore digital banks created after a 2019 licensing change by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (Singapore central bank). The model remains under pressure financially. Among Singapore digital banks serving retail users, only Trust Bank has reached profitability, recording its first profitable month in March. MariBank Singapore posted a 55.6 million Singapore dollar loss in 2025, wider than 51.3 million a year earlier. Under licensing terms, digital banks must show a credible path to profitability within five years of launch, leaving MariBank with about three years from 2023; Sea injected 75 million Singapore dollars into the bank in January to support expansion. That expansion is centered on less-banked markets, especially the Philippines. MariBank entered the country after Sea acquired Banco Laguna, and the Philippine central bank recently upgraded its license from a rural bank to a full digital bank. Goh said the bank is adapting its Singapore-built products for local conditions, including smaller ticket sizes and cash-in, cash-out services through retail outlets in a market where cash still accounts for 42% of point-of-sale payments, according to Worldpay’s 2026 Global Payments Report. MariBank is also using Shopee data to assess borrowers in a market with limited formal credit records, part of Goh’s broader ambition to build a regional digital banking group headquartered in Singapore.