Fintech
Grab’s two side projects suggest Malaysia beats Singapore for fintech jobs
14 billion dollars Singapore fintech In the fintech sector, Grab does much more than just payments. Not all projects, however, are the same.
In collaboration with telecommunications company Singtel, Grab launched GXS Bank in 2022, the first digital bank in Singapore to receive a banking license. More than a year later he launched GXBank, a branch in Malaysia. While jobs have been a bit stagnant in the former, GXBank has grown tremendously and employees seem to enjoy the experience much more.
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According to social media data, GXS Bank has about 345 employees and has hovered around that number over the past year. GXBank, meanwhile, has just under 300 employees but has doubled in size in the same time frame. Both teams have more or less the same number of technical and engineering personnel.
Both teams are run by former investment bank CEOs. GXBank’s CEO is Pei Si La, who spent over two decades at Standard Chartered and has been managing director of Singapore and Malaysia since 2014. Prior to joining GXBank, she was country head of consumer, private and corporate banking in Malaysia. The CEO of GXS Bank, meanwhile, is Charles Wong. He joined Grab in 2020 after 20 years at Citi, where he was most recently head of retail banking in Singapore.
Headcount may be stagnant for now, but GXS Bank has still made some recent senior hires. Vishal Shah, former MD of Standard Chartered, joined last month as head of SME banking. This month he also hired Jeffrey Chan as head of technology and cyber risk governance; most recently he was head of cloud services, innovation and artificial intelligence transformation at sovereign wealth fund GIC. GXBank’s most senior hire in 2024 was data management chief Laxman Damodar, a director of data architecture at CIMB.
Both banks are continuing to hire in 2024, albeit at different paces. GXBank has 64 open jobs, while GXS Bank has 24. The most senior position available right now is also at GXBank; is currently recruiting for a finance director.
At GXBank, the works appear pleasant, as well as abundant. Glassdoor reviews average 4.2 stars, higher than Grab’s company average of 4. Reviews praise its fast-paced startup environment, its approach to working from home, the significant mission of being Malaysia’s first digital bank and the availability of equity payments. However, it’s far from perfect; There are complaints that GXBank is management-heavy and that processes can sometimes seem rushed.
Reviews for GXS Bank are significantly less favorable: Glassdoor reviews average just 2.7 stars. Reviews note a “dramatic [political] cultural change” by middle management and “demotivated employees”. Like GXBank, however, there is much praise for the work flexibilityand there is much praise for the pay.
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