Over 60% of Singaporean millennials would consider a fully digital bank as primary FI, per market analysis, as user base expands.

Millennial Willingness and Digital Banking User Growth

Over 60% of Singaporean millennials stated they would consider a fully digital bank as their primary financial institution in 2025, up from 35% in 2020, according to AI-summarized market research. This generational shift in banking preferences is unfolding against a backdrop of rapid user acquisition across Singapore's digital banking sector.

The number of digital banking users in Singapore reached 1 million in October 2023 and is forecast to hit 1.7 million by 2025, according to UnaFinancial estimates reported by Financial IT. The average monthly growth rate since app download statistics became available in August 2022 was 76%. Two structural factors underpin this expansion: increasing demand for alternatives to traditional banks, and Singapore's high degree of digitalization—the country ranked fourth globally in the Global Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2022.

Quantitatively, digital banking user growth correlates strongly with smartphone penetration (direct correlation coefficient of 0.98) and social media usage among the population (direct correlation coefficient of 0.98), while inflation shows an inverse correlation (0.92). These coefficients indicate that the same infrastructure enabling broader digital adoption is also driving the shift toward mobile-first financial services.

Users (millions) (M)Source: Orionmano Industries

The projected user base of 1.7 million represents roughly 30% of Singapore's adult population, suggesting that the cohort of millennials willing to adopt a digital-only primary relationship (over 60%) significantly outpaces the current adoption rate. This gap implies substantial headroom for growth as digital banks deepen engagement with existing users and convert willing non-users.

Trust Bank’s Milestones as a Proxy for Millennial Adoption

Trust Bank, a joint venture between Standard Chartered and FairPrice Group, offers a concrete lens into how millennial-friendly digital banking translates into real-world metrics. As of March 2026, over 170,000 customers used Trust Bank as their primary financial institution—a designation that typically signals salary crediting, bill payments, and daily spending routed through the digital bank.

The bank's disclosed operating metrics for 2025 illustrate the depth of engagement. Trust Bank disbursed over S$900 million in loans, sold more than 75,000 insurance policies, and saw approximately 50,000 customers open TrustInvest accounts to begin investment journeys. Trust credit cards are used about 25 times per month on average, indicating daily-driver status rather than occasional or secondary use.

A notable data point: Trust Bank's card spending captured approximately 22% of the total Visa foreign exchange spend in Singapore, a market share that signals strong adoption among millennials—the demographic most likely to travel and transact internationally. Salary crediting now accounts for roughly one-third of Trust Bank's total deposit balances, suggesting that an increasing share of customers treat Trust as their primary payroll account rather than a supplementary wallet.

These operational milestones map closely to the millennial willingness metric. The bank has built an ecosystem spanning saving, spending, budgeting, borrowing, insurance, and investing, giving customers multiple reasons to engage beyond a single product. The bank reports 240,000 Savings Pots in use, where customers set aside funds for specific financial goals—a feature that resonates with digitally native users accustomed to app-based goal setting.

Competitive Dynamics and Path to Profitability

Singapore's digital banking sector operates within a regulatory framework designed to stimulate competition. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has actively encouraged competition through digital bank licenses, and new entrants are targeting millennials and sole proprietorships—segments with lower loyalty to traditional banks. The broader financial impact is measurable: digital bank net interest income grew 60% annually since 2017, reaching €2.7 billion in 2023, and is forecast to grow 1.2 times to €3.3 billion by end of 2024, per UnaFinancial.

Trust Bank's disclosed profitability milestone provides a benchmark for the wider market. The bank achieved profitability by integrating non-financial services, leveraging AI and automation, and expanding its product ecosystem—a playbook that industry analysts at Simon-Kucher recommend for the sector. "The key takeaway for digital banks is the importance of integrating non-financial services to create a comprehensive customer experience," the consultancy notes. "By offering a broader range of services beyond traditional banking—such as entertainment, social features, and lifestyle tools—digital banks can encourage more frequent interactions."

However, the competitive landscape remains concentrated at the top. Analysis from iSky, which tracks consumer interactions with banking apps, shows that DBS, OCBC, and Standard Chartered lead Singapore's retail banking sector, achieving the highest Voice of the Customer scores for app functionality and user experience. The incumbents' digital offerings are not standing still—Citi Wealth and HSBC have been revamping digital interfaces, and the broader trend toward mobile-first banking means traditional banks are investing heavily in UX and personalization.

The path to profitability for pure-play digital banks remains narrow. Younger segments may engage with digital banks only for specific use cases—such as overseas payments with better FX rates or online shopping—rather than as comprehensive primary relationships. This makes ecosystem expansion and AI-driven personalization critical levers for converting willingness into sustained deposit and lending relationships.

As digital banks mature and expand product ecosystems—spanning savings, lending, insurance, and investing—millennials' stated willingness will likely convert into sustained primary-FI relationships. This transition would pressure traditional banks to accelerate digital transformation or risk losing the next generation of customers to digital-first alternatives that offer superior user experience, lower fees, and integrated lifestyle services.