Digital Bank Deposit Insurance Cap in Singapore: How Much of Your GXS, Trust or MariBank Money Is Actually Protected
The digital bank deposit insurance cap is the same SGD 100,000 per depositor, per Scheme member bank protection under Singapore’s Deposit Insurance Scheme (administered by SDIC) that applies to full digital banks such as GXS Bank and MariBank, exactly as it applies to traditional banks like DBS or OCBC.
Not financial advice. All figures for educational reference only. Data as at September 2026.
Last updated: September 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Singapore’s Deposit Insurance Scheme covers up to SGD 100,000 per depositor per Scheme member bank, and this cap applies equally to licensed digital full banks.
- GXS Bank and MariBank, as full digital banks licensed by MAS, are Scheme members and their eligible deposits are insured up to the same SGD 100,000 cap.
- Trust Bank operates as a digital full bank in partnership with Standard Chartered and is also a Scheme member, with deposits covered up to the same cap.
- The cap applies per bank, not per account — spreading money across multiple accounts at the same digital bank does not multiply the protection.
- Money held in non-deposit products offered through a digital bank’s app, such as investment or insurance products, is generally not covered by the Deposit Insurance Scheme at all.
What Is the Digital Bank Deposit Insurance Cap?
Singapore’s Deposit Insurance Scheme, administered by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC), protects depositors’ eligible deposits at Scheme member banks and finance companies up to a specified cap in the event a member institution fails. As of 2026, that cap stands at SGD 100,000 per depositor per Scheme member.
The scheme was not designed exclusively for traditional banks. When MAS issued digital full bank licences to GXS Bank (a joint venture involving Grab and Singtel) and MariBank (backed by Sea Limited), and separately licensed Trust Bank (a joint venture between Standard Chartered and NTUC Enterprise) as a digital full bank, these institutions became Scheme members subject to the same deposit insurance obligations as incumbent banks.
This means the perception that digital banks are somehow “riskier” or carry less deposit protection than DBS, OCBC, or UOB is not accurate from a deposit insurance standpoint — the SGD 100,000 cap and the underlying SDIC mechanism apply identically, provided the institution is a Scheme member and the product in question qualifies as an eligible deposit.
This regulatory parity was a deliberate design choice by MAS when the digital full bank licensing framework was first introduced, intended to ensure new digital entrants would not have an unfair trust disadvantage compared to established banks purely due to deposit insurance perception, even as digital banks compete aggressively on convenience and promotional interest rates.
How Does the Digital Bank Deposit Insurance Cap Work in Singapore?
The SGD 100,000 cap is calculated per depositor, per Scheme member institution — not per account and not per product. If a depositor holds SGD 60,000 in a GXS Bank savings account and another SGD 50,000 in a separate GXS Bank pocket or sub-account, the combined SGD 110,000 is still only insured up to SGD 100,000 in total, because both sit under the same Scheme member.
Because GXS Bank, MariBank, and Trust Bank are each separate, distinct Scheme members from DBS, OCBC, UOB, and from each other, a depositor who spreads funds across several of these institutions can multiply their total insured coverage — for example, up to SGD 100,000 at GXS Bank and a separate SGD 100,000 at Trust Bank, each fully covered, because they are different Scheme members.
Not every product offered inside a digital bank’s app counts as an insured deposit. Savings accounts and eligible fixed deposit-style products typically qualify. Investment products, insurance products, or any feature explicitly marketed as non-deposit (sometimes bundled into a digital bank’s ecosystem app) generally fall outside the Deposit Insurance Scheme entirely, regardless of how the app presents them visually alongside savings balances.
SDIC coverage is automatic for eligible deposits at Scheme members — depositors do not need to apply, register, or pay anything extra for the protection; it is a standing feature of holding an eligible deposit account in Singapore.
It is also worth noting that the Deposit Insurance Scheme cap is reviewed periodically by SDIC and the Singapore government in consultation with the banking industry, meaning the SGD 100,000 figure, while stable for an extended period, is not necessarily fixed forever — depositors with balances near the cap should periodically check the current SDIC-published figure rather than relying on a remembered number from a prior year.
the Digital Bank Deposit Insurance Cap Example
A Singapore resident keeps SGD 80,000 in a GXS Bank savings account and SGD 90,000 in a MariBank savings account. Because GXS Bank and MariBank are separate Scheme members, both balances are individually eligible for coverage up to SGD 100,000 each — meaning the full SGD 170,000 combined is protected, since neither balance exceeds its own institution’s SGD 100,000 cap.
If that same depositor instead concentrated all SGD 170,000 into a single GXS Bank savings account, only SGD 100,000 of that balance would be protected under the Deposit Insurance Scheme if GXS Bank were to fail — the remaining SGD 70,000 would not automatically be recovered through SDIC and would depend on the bank’s broader liquidation process.
Advantages of the Digital Bank Deposit Insurance Cap
The extension of full deposit insurance to Singapore’s digital banks carries some clear practical benefits for depositors.
- Equal protection to incumbent banks. A depositor does not sacrifice deposit insurance coverage by choosing GXS Bank, MariBank, or Trust Bank over DBS, OCBC, or UOB.
- Coverage multiplies across separate Scheme members. Spreading larger sums across several digital and traditional banks can extend total effective coverage well beyond a single SGD 100,000 cap.
- Automatic and free. There is no opt-in process or fee for SDIC protection on eligible deposits — it applies as soon as the funds sit in a covered product.
- Regulatory parity reduces systemic confusion. Because MAS licenses and regulates digital full banks under comparable frameworks to traditional banks, the deposit insurance mechanism did not need a separate, weaker scheme for digital entrants.
Risks and Limitations
Depositors should still be careful about a few practical gaps in how the cap actually works.
- The cap is easy to accidentally exceed at attractive digital banks offering high promotional interest rates, since depositors are incentivised to concentrate funds where the yield is best, potentially pushing balances above the SGD 100,000 protected threshold at one institution.
- Not all in-app balances are insured deposits. Digital bank apps increasingly bundle savings, investment, and insurance products in one interface, and it is easy to mistakenly assume everything visible in the app carries the same SDIC protection.
- The cap has not always been SGD 100,000 — it was raised from a lower level in past years, so depositors should check the current SDIC-published figure rather than relying on an outdated number.
- Coverage is per Scheme member, not per brand experience. If a digital bank operates multiple app-facing products but they are legally the same banking entity, splitting funds across those products does not create additional coverage.
- Joint accounts at digital banks follow the same joint-account aggregation rules as traditional banks, meaning a joint account’s coverage is calculated separately from each holder’s individual accounts, which can create confusion for couples or families who bank primarily through a single digital bank.
Deposit Insurance at Digital Banks vs Traditional Banks in Singapore
| Feature | Digital Full Banks (GXS, MariBank, Trust) | Traditional Banks (DBS, OCBC, UOB) |
|---|---|---|
| SDIC Scheme membership | Yes, as MAS-licensed digital full banks | Yes |
| Coverage cap per depositor per bank | SGD 100,000 | SGD 100,000 |
| Coverage applies automatically | Yes, on eligible deposits | Yes, on eligible deposits |
| Investment/insurance products in-app | Generally not covered | Generally not covered |
| Coverage multiplies across separate banks | Yes | Yes |
Source: Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation (SDIC) Scheme member list and coverage terms, 2026.
The Bottom Line
For Singapore depositors, the deposit insurance cap at digital banks is not a lesser or different protection — it is the same SGD 100,000-per-Scheme-member coverage that applies at any traditional bank.
The practical risk is not the digital bank’s regulatory status; it is concentrating too much money in one place, whether digital or traditional, and assuming every in-app balance carries the same insured status without checking.