Digital Banks Bet Big on AI but Face a Hard Question: Where Is the ROI?
Source: Singapore Business Review
Singapore's digital bank leaders gather at the ABF & Insurance Asia Summit to confront a growing tension: AI investment is surging but measurable returns remain elusive. Green Link Digital Bank, ANEXT Bank, GXS Bank and MariBank shared how they are tying AI spend to profitability, risk management, and scalable infrastructure.
Digital banks in Singapore are deepening their investment in artificial intelligence, but a clear tension emerged at this week's Asian Banking & Finance and Insurance Asia Summit: everyone is spending on AI, yet proving it pays off remains the industry's hardest question.
Patrick Sze, chief technology officer of Green Link Digital Bank, said the bank has built its AI capabilities entirely in-house so that no customer data leaves its controlled environment. The approach has paid off — Green Link has been profitable since September 2024, making it one of the fastest digital banks in Asia to reach profitability. Sze noted that every AI use case was deployed only after a proven business case and clear return on investment. Frank Liu, principal at Kearney, lent credibility to Green Link's approach, adding a sharp reminder: "AI is everywhere except in ROI."
Other panellists echoed the theme. Philip Tan, chief financial officer of ANEXT Bank, said ROI must be assessed on whether AI improves risk decisioning, drives monetisation, and scales beyond one-off use cases. Pei-Si Lai, group CEO of GXS Bank, described AI as central to how the bank manages credit, fraud, and anti-money laundering risk at scale — noting that GXS Group doubled revenue and tripled assets over the past year while costs declined, partly due to its AI-driven digital operating model. Natalia Goh, CEO of MariBank, framed AI and data capabilities as reusable, foundational infrastructure rather than one-off product features, allowing faster rollouts across markets.
Why it matters for Singapore: Singapore is home to four of Southeast Asia's most prominent digital banks — Green Link, ANEXT, GXS, and MariBank — each backed by major financial and technology groups. The city-state's regulatory sandbox and MAS's recently proposed SAFR framework for AI governance in finance create an environment where digital banks can experiment with AI while being held to accountability standards. The question of ROI is not academic: with MAS signalling tighter AI governance rules, digital banks that can demonstrate measurable outcomes from their AI investments will be better positioned to scale responsibly. The summit's subtext is clear — Singapore's digital banking sector is entering a phase where AI spend must translate into operational performance, not just press releases.