Redefining the digital banking experience with Trust Bank

The bank won in this year’s SBR Technology Excellence Awards.

Building a digital bank from scratch is challenging. Doing this in less than 15 months whilst developing a range of products and setting new standards in customer experience is something else. Trust Bank did just this, using the latest technology to reimagine the digital banking experience in Singapore. At its heart, it aimed to help people make significant savings on their everyday spending through a service which is simple, transparent, and rewarding.

Backed by Standard Chartered Bank and FairPrice Group, Trust launched with not one but three products—a credit card, savings account, and family personal accident insurance—as well as seamless integration into the FairPrice Group ecosystem. This ecosystem delivers more than a million customer experiences nationwide every day and enables Trust customers to make real savings on their everyday spending. 

Following its launch in September last year, Singapore’s response was resounding with 100,000 customers opening Trust accounts in the first 10 days. Within seven months, Trust reached more than 500,000 customer sign-ups, equivalent to 10% of the adult population. This made Trust one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banks and put it on the map not just in Singapore but globally.

This remarkable growth was driven by a ground-breaking customer referral programme which focused on the instant reward of everyday vouchers which customers valued more over big-ticket items. Using Trust’s modern, cloud-native technology to create a real-time user experience, the programme generated outstanding customer acquisition results. Around 70% of new sign-ups referred to Trust by their friends or family, reflecting strong customer endorsement of their Trust experience.

Trust didn’t just deliver outstanding growth results during its first seven months but also several market-first product innovations. The Trust credit card is the first-to-market numberless credit card in Singapore. Customers can choose their repayment date and eliminate many fees including FX, as well as provide dual functionality as a credit card and debit card, removing the need to carry multiple cards.

By embodying a customer-centric approach in their business, Trust continues to act on customer feedback for the development of features and products and does so at market-leading velocity. Prioritising customer experience and satisfaction have made Trust the success that it is today.

For this unique offering in digital banking, differentiated through customer experience and innovation, Trust received the Digital - Banking Award at the 2023 SBR Technology Excellence Awards.

The awards programme recognises the success and achievements of companies in Singapore and their strides to offer better products and services into the market using digital innovations, and Trust distinguished itself from the competition.

The SBR Technology Excellence Awards is presented by Singapore Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2024 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding contributions in pursuit of technological innovation, please contact Jane Patiag at [email protected].