Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can now turn to ANEXT Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ant Group, to address their digital financial services needs.
The Singapore-based digital wholesale bank will focus on providing digital financial services to local and regional MSMEs, especially those engaging in cross-border operations for growth and global expansion.
One such service is the ANEXT Business Account, a dual-currency deposit account with proprietary security measures, including three-factor authentication verification and features such as remote onboarding and daily interest. It will be available to the general SME community from Q32022.
“Amid rapid acceleration in the digital economy, business models are changing and pivoting to become digital-first, if not adopting a hybrid model. Financial services have to evolve and be where SMEs are doing their businesses digitally,” says Toh Su Mei, chief executive officer of ANEXT Bank.
She continues: “We are well-positioned to live up to this vision, leveraging Ant Group’s deep bench of technologies and know-how, along with our customer-obsessed local team dedicated to serving the SME community.
“Adopting an open and collaborative approach, we believe in joining hands with industry partners and the public sector to provide SMEs with financial services that are simpler, safer and more rewarding.”
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Partners with Proxtera to make marketplaces more efficient
As part of its open and collaborative approach, ANEXT Bank has signed a two-year MoU with Proxtera – the entity supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and private sector entities.
The move aims to transform and enable holistic cross-border trade among SMEs and businesses by making marketplaces efficient and discoverable globally, with embedded financing, fulfilment services and SME empowerment.
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Under the agreement, both organisations will jointly create and establish an open framework for all participating financial institutions as they provide financing and risk mitigation support for SMEs and platforms in global trades.
ANEXT Bank will also be Proxtera’s first participating digital wholesale bank in Singapore to lead the way in providing financing solutions to the buyers and sellers on Proxtera’s network.
Saurav Bhattacharyya, chief executive officer of Proxtera, says: “Seamless access and availability of trade financing solutions will help amplify business growth and accelerate expansion for SMEs.
“Proxtera’s commitment is to simplify global trade for SMEs and uplift them with the power of networks. [Combining that with] ANEXT Bank’s digital-born identity and digital-first capabilities and services, I’m confident that we can make trade easier, more seamless and efficient for SMEs.”
