Latest news with #MariBank
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Police, MariBank foil fraudsters' attempt to scam woman of $149,000
SINGAPORE - A 55-year-old woman almost lost $149,000 through a ruse, after she received a call in May claiming that her credit card was misused. The caller, who posed as a bank officer, claimed that the card had been used for unauthorised purchases in China, the police said in a news release on June 10. When the woman denied making any such transactions, she was transferred to another scammer impersonating a police officer, they said. The fake officer claimed she was a suspect in a money laundering investigation and threatened her with a 60-day detention if she failed to cooperate. Complying with the scammers' instructions, the woman transferred more than $49,000 to a MariBank account they provided details of on May 24. MariBank is a digital bank owned by shopping platform Shopee's parent company, Sea. The woman was falsely assured that the transfer would not affect her account balance, the police said. However, MariBank flagged the transaction as suspicious and promptly alerted the police's Anti-Scam Centre (ASC). ASC officers then convinced the victim that she had been scammed. The transferred funds were later recovered and the potential loss of another $100,000 was prevented, the police added. For more information on scams, visit or call the ScamShield hotline on 1799. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
Online Citizen
4 hours ago
- Online Citizen
Authorities prevent $149,000 loss in impersonation scam targeting 55-year-old woman
SINGAPORE: A 55-year-old woman in Singapore narrowly avoided losing $149,000 after falling victim to a scam involving fraudsters posing as government officials. The ruse began with a phone call in May 2025 claiming that her credit card had been misused. The caller, who identified himself as a bank officer, alleged that the woman's credit card had been used for unauthorised purchases in China, the police said in a news release on Tuesday (10 June). When she denied making any such transactions, the call was transferred to another scammer pretending to be a police officer. The fake officer told her she was under investigation for money laundering and threatened her with 60 days' detention if she did not cooperate. Fearing arrest, she followed their instructions and, on 24 May 2025, transferred more than $49,000 to a MariBank account. The scammers falsely assured her that the transfer would not affect her account balance. MariBank, a digital bank owned by Sea Limited, flagged the transaction as suspicious through its monitoring system and immediately alerted the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC). ASC officers quickly intervened, engaged with the victim, and successfully convinced her that she had been targeted by scammers. Swift action by ASC and MariBank led to the recovery of $49,000 and prevented further potential losses of about $100,000. The police urged the public to stay vigilant and adopt precautionary measures, such as enabling international call blocking on mobile devices, activating two-factor or multifactor authentication for online accounts, and using the 'Money Lock' feature on bank accounts to safeguard savings. Members of the public are also encouraged to verify suspicious claims with official sources, such as the ScamShield Helpline at 1799 or the website Personal details—including SingPass credentials, CPF information, internet banking details, and One-Time Passwords (OTPs)—should never be disclosed to unknown parties. Individuals should also closely monitor transaction alerts sent by their banks. Anyone who suspects they have fallen victim to a scam should contact their bank immediately to block unauthorised transactions and make a police report. Suspicious accounts or chat groups should also be reported to the authorities. According to the Singapore Police Force's Annual Scams and Cybercrime Brief 2024, there were 1,504 reported cases of government official impersonation scams last year, resulting in at least S$151.3 million in losses. Victims aged between 50 and 64 formed the largest group, accounting for 28.6 per cent of cases. Scammers primarily contacted victims via phone calls and WhatsApp messages. For more information or assistance, members of the public can visit or call the ScamShield Helpline at 1799.
Business Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
South-east Asia's tech unicorns may look more like banks in the future
[SINGAPORE] A couple of years ago, banking would not have been the avenue people imagined South-east Asia's tech unicorns would take in pursuit of growth and sustainability. Now, most of South-east Asia's tech unicorns have a bank of sorts under their belt – Grab has GXS Bank in Singapore, GX Bank in Malaysia and Superbank in Indonesia, while Sea has MariBank in Singapore and SeaBank in Indonesia and the Philippines. Sea also operates Ryt Bank as a joint venture with YTL Group. Even GoTo has backed Bank Jago in Indonesia. The banking sector is highly regulated, while tech startups, in contrast, often operate in regulatory grey areas where tech can disrupt current business models. The inroads that these tech-owned banks have made into their markets have been remarkable. For instance, the total deposits for Grab's GXS and GX banks have grown from US$479 million in the first quarter of 2024 to US$1.3 billion in Q1 2025. The three banks owned by Grab are projected to be collectively profitable by Q4 2026, according to Alex Hungate, chief operating officer of Grab. MariBank is also on track for profitability within the Monetary Authority of Singapore's digital bank licence framework of five years from launch. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Given these growth trends, there is potential for banking and financial services to make up the bulk of Sea and Grab's businesses. Currently, financial services make up 9.6 per cent of Grab's total revenue for Q1 2025, and 16.2 per cent of Sea's Q1 2025 revenue. These numbers can quickly multiply, as Grab and Sea ramp up their banking operations in emerging markets such as Indonesia. Almost half of all adults in that country are unbanked or underbanked, and about 36 million adults remain unbanked in the Philippines. Running their banks as digital banks has helped to cut costs in serving unbanked and underbanked customers. Technology is making risk management processes such as know-your-customer and credit modelling – in an environment where information is not readily available – cheaper compared with traditional banks. The opportunities in South-east Asia also include the many micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that Grab and Sea's banks serve. Traditional banks incur high costs to serve this segment of business customers. Meanwhile, the new digital banks by Grab and Sea have also utilised technology to serve their retail customers, thus bringing costs down. It also helps that some of the MSME customers are also Grab or Sea merchants, allowing their banks to access data that traditional banks would not be privy to. The number of orders on Grab's food-delivery platform and Sea's Shopee platform gives the tech unicorns an edge in understanding these customers' monthly cash flow and business performance. Rising interest rates in the last few years have also allowed digital banks to make money off deposits. Coupled with this edge that Grab and Sea have over traditional banks, the foundation has been laid for their banking businesses to potentially overtake the original business units in terms of revenue. Grab's mobility and food-delivery businesses are highly dependent on the human factor, given the involvement of drivers, riders and food merchants. Similarly, Sea's Shopee business is equally dependent on merchants being willing to continue to sell on the platform. This is a factor that both Grab and Sea have less control over; they can influence such actors with incentives and subsidies, but this may result in inefficiencies. In conventional banking, once a customer is acquired, there is a level of stickiness that comes with participating in financial services transactions. This is unlike customers of delivery and ride-hailing services, who are driven by the lowest price, or with the riders, who may jump ship once the commission percentage changes. Grab and Sea would also wield more control over the supply side of the equation, compared with ride-hailing or e-commerce. With these factors in mind, it will pay to watch this space, to see if the next incarnation of Grab and Sea will be as banks rather than tech players.
Independent Singapore
10-05-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
SeaMoney becomes Monee in rebrand, CEO calls ‘simple and cute'
Photo: Facebook/Sea Limited SINGAPORE: Sea Limited, owner of popular e-commerce platform Shopee, has rebranded its financial services arm from SeaMoney to Monee, which Sea's founder and CEO Forrest Li said is because it's 'simple and cute'. He added that the new name is 'just like Sea, easy to write and pronounce.' Fortune reported that the new brand, Monee, will oversee MariBank in Singapore and SeaBank in Indonesia and the Philippines, including its payments and lending services across Southeast Asia. The launch took place on Thursday (May 8), with Second Minister for Trade and Industry, Tan See Leng, officiating the event. According to Singapore Business Review , Mr Tan, who is also the Minister for Manpower, said Monee will establish several centres of excellence in Singapore in areas like anti-money laundering and fraud, product management and design, risk management and compliance, among others. Mr Tan also praised Sea's early success in digital finance, saying that companies like Sea help keep Singapore competitive as a hub for ideas, talent, and investment while creating new opportunities for the economy and its people. In a Facebook post on Friday (May 9), Sea Limited wrote, 'The unveiling of the new name, Monee, marks an exciting chapter for a business that began as a simple prepaid card network to support our gaming users. And while it has since evolved into one of the largest digital financial services platforms in Southeast Asia, we are only seeing the start of its potential.' 'As the digital economy continues to evolve, we remain committed to bettering the lives of consumers and small businesses through technology, and Monee will continue to build a future where financial inclusion is a reality for all,' it added. According to Fortune, Mr Tan said digital payment transactions across Southeast Asia hit US$1.1 trillion (S$1.43 trillion) in 2024 and are set to double by 2030. He also noted that digital lending is expected to grow from US$70 billion (S$90.80 billion) last year to about US$200 billion (S$259.42 billion) by the end of the decade. /TISG Read also: Goh Cheng Liang, Li Xiting, and Forrest Li lead Forbes' Singapore's richest in 2025; number of SG billionaires rose to 49
Business Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
SeaMoney rebrands to Monee, opens new headquarters for Sea group's digital financial services
[SINGAPORE] Sea's digital financial services arm has rebranded from SeaMoney to Monee, an umbrella segment for all of Sea's digital financial services. This was announced on Thursday (May 8) as part of the new office opening of Sea's digital financial services headquarters at Rochester Commons. Monee will be the main occupant of the CapitaLand property, taking up 10 of the 17 floors. The two digital banks, MariBank in Singapore and SeaBank in Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as payment and loan services, will also be part of the Monee segment of Sea. Some highlights of the digital financial services include more than S$1 billion in MariBank's Mari Invest SavePlus Fund, making it one of the largest Singapore dollar money market funds in in the Republic. Sea's chief executive Forrest Li said: 'Today, with over 26 million active credit users, our loan book has grown to over US$5 billion – a reflection of the scale of the unmet demand that we are serving. A digital banking group has also been launched under MariBank. Monee will be establishing centres of excellence in product management, artificial intelligence and anti-money laundering in its new headquarters. The office will accommodate 1,000 employees, with a capacity of up to 1,500. In a speech at the office opening, Manpower Minister and Second Trade and Industry Minister Tan See Leng said: 'These centres of excellences deepen Singapore's expertise in domains that will take on greater importance in the industry, as nefarious activities become more sophisticated.' He added that Sea has achieved early successes in tapping the market potential in digital finance. 'Their experience is one which is worth taking a leaf from, especially for home-grown companies looking to grow in our thriving financial services industry,' he said.
