GXS Bank has launched the GXS Credit Card, an unlimited cashback product issued with Visa and built around the spending patterns of its two shareholders, Grab and Singtel.
Cardholders earn up to 10 per cent back in GrabCoins on eligible Grab transactions including transport, food delivery and groceries. GrabCoins can be applied against future Grab spend. Singtel bill payments earn a flat 1.75 per cent cashback. Neither category carries a minimum spend requirement, so rebates start from the first dollar.
All other spending earns 1.75 per cent with no cap on total cashback, subject to a minimum of S$500 within the monthly billing cycle.
The more consequential detail sits in the distribution. Grab customers can apply for and begin using the card directly inside the Grab app, and the card appears automatically once approved. GXS says this is the first time a bank-issued credit card in Singapore can be originated through a third-party application.
The bank ran a month-long beta with more than 1,000 customers before launch. Over 90 per cent used the card for Grab and Singtel payments, and active testers earned an average of S$18 in combined cashback and GrabCoins over the period.
“Our ecosystem strength has been GXS Bank’s secret sauce from day one,” said Pei-Si Lai, Group CEO of GXS Bank. “Beyond the resources, support and network of Grab and Singtel, the insights that we glean from ecosystem data has enabled us to create products and experiences that are woven seamlessly into Grab and Singtel’s user journeys.”
The first 1,000 customers ordering a physical card from 18 August will receive a limited-edition version. GXS holds a full banking licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and is owned by a consortium of Grab Holdings and Singtel, with sister operations at GXBank in Malaysia and a minority stake in Superbank in Indonesia.
The Herald View
The cashback rate is not the product. GXS has turned Grab’s app into a card origination channel, which means acquisition happens inside the spending session itself, without the branch footprint, aggregator listings or sign-up bonuses incumbents pay for. That is a cost structure DBS and UOB cannot buy, because neither owns a super app. Watch whether GXS discloses the split between applications originated in Grab versus its own app. Grab dominance would confirm the rebate is priced as acquisition cost, not as a rewards proposition.