Trust Bank launches Freedom as Singapore's first stockback credit card. Trust also released a report showing younger investors are starting earlier but confidence remains a key barrier. Get the hottest Fintech Singapore News once a month in your Inbox Trust Bank has launched the Freedom Card, which it describes as Singapore's first credit card to offer stockback rewards. The card allows customers to turn rewards earned from everyday spending into fractional investments in selected US stocks and exchange-traded funds. Stockback starts investing once rewards reach S$10. For every dollar spent, customers earn a stockback value. Once the accumulated amount reaches S$10, it is automatically invested in a US stock or ETF chosen by the customer from a list of 50 eligible investments. Customers can change their selected investment before the next transaction. Until 31 December 2026, Trust is offering an introductory 3% stockback on eligible local and overseas spending. The Freedom Card is an updated version of Trust's Cashback Card. Customers can choose between stockback, bonus cashback or unlimited cashback and switch their preferred reward type every quarter. The existing bonus cashback option offers up to 15% on a selected category and up to 1% on other eligible spending. Customers can also choose unlimited cashback of up to 1.5% with no minimum spend or cap. Trust plans to add miles as another reward option later. Trust Bank's study finds young adults are investing earlier. The launch comes alongside Trust's Everyday Investor Report 2026, which surveyed 1,050 Singapore residents aged 18 to 40 between May and June 2026. The study found that 51% are actively investing, while 33% have never invested and 16% previously invested but have since stopped. Younger investors are also starting early. Among active investors aged 18 to 24, 74% made their first investment by age 20, while 88% of those aged 25 to 40 had started by age 30. Around 65% of active investors made an investment transaction within the past month, while 72% check their portfolios at least weekly. The report also found that 65% use dollar-cost averaging for at least some of their investments. Singapore stocks are the most commonly held investment at 56%, followed by global ETFs at 45% and US or overseas stocks at 37%. Crypto is held by 25% of active investors. Many investors are also making their own decisions, with 65% investing independently. YouTube was the most common source of investment ideas at 40%, ahead of TikTok or Instagram at 32% and financial news at 31%. AI is also becoming part of the investing process. Some 26% of active investors use AI chatbots as an investing tool, behind watchlists and price alerts. However, confidence remains a major barrier for non-investors. Among those who have never invested, 44% cited fear of losing money, 41% said they did not know enough to feel confident and 38% did not know where or how to start. Another 32% said they did not have money left over to invest. Dwaipayan Sadhu, Chief Executive Officer of Trust Bank, said, "When we spoke to young Singapore residents, what stood out wasn't a lack of interest in investing. It was that many people felt investing was still too complicated, intimidating or expensive to get started. We wanted to change that. With Freedom, something as simple as buying coffee, groceries or paying for dinner can become a small step towards building wealth. Instead of rewards sitting idle, customers can put them to work in investments that have the potential to grow over time." Featured image: (From left) Trust's CEO Dwaipayan Sadhu and Visa's Group Country Manager, Regional Southeast Asia and SVP, Global Clients and Acquirers, Asia Pacific Adeline Kim.

Trust Bank taps ecosystem to fuel digital banking growth. The digital lender credits partnerships, not just tech, for its scale to one million customers in under four years Trust Bank has attributed its rapid growth in Singapore to its ecosystem partnerships, saying they enabled the digital lender to scale faster than technology alone could. Speaking at the Asian Banking & Finance and Insurance Asia Summit in Singapore on 1 July, Naveen Sethia, chief customer officer at Trust Bank, said the bank's partnership with Standard Chartered and NTUC enabled it to build on existing customer relationships and loyalty programmes rather than developing them from scratch. "Our foundation, so Trust has two shareholders," Sethia said. "It's a unique partnership between Standard Chartered Bank and NTUC." He said Standard Chartered contributed its long banking heritage in Singapore and track record of innovation, whilst NTUC provided access to a broad consumer ecosystem spanning FairPrice supermarkets, food outlets, Income Insurance, union memberships and the Link Rewards programme. Join Singapore Business Review community "This all also helped us a lot, because we as a bank don't need to build a loyalty system from get-go," Sethia said. "Even today Link credit card is a product that we offer, and client get Link points as a reward, and that was widely popular even before we started." The shareholder model formed one of three foundations Sethia said enabled Trust to scale rapidly after launching in September 2022. The bank has grown to more than one million customers, equivalent to one in five adults in Singapore, and reported its first quarterly profit in March this year. Sethia also credited Singapore's digital infrastructure as another key growth driver, describing the country's national digital identity system and real-time payments network as critical enablers of customer acquisition. Singapore's MyInfo and Singpass systems allow customers to complete know-your-customer checks quickly, whilst payment platforms such as PayNow, FAST and SGQR make digital transactions seamless. Trust also built its technology stack without legacy systems, adopting a cloud-native architecture and event-driven design from the outset. "Since we started in 2022, we had the luxury of going cloud native," Sethia said. "We don't need to rely on legacy systems." Trust paired that technology foundation with a customer-first culture to shape product development before expanding from savings accounts and credit cards into lending, investments and insurance. Its customer-led innovations include a card that switches between debit and credit, digital supplementary card applications, automated payments, Saving Spot for goal-based saving, and digital investment products. Sethia said many of these innovations were developed after customers shared specific needs with the bank. Sethia said customers wanted the simplicity of fintech investment platforms without sacrificing the trust associated with established banks. Trust responded by launching mutual funds in 2025 before expanding into stock trading and fractional investing. "We really focus on solving some of the needs people have in a different way," Sethia said. "People will engage, and they will use you more."

SG's Trust Bank launches fractional trading of US stocks, ETFs. Trust Bank, a Singapore-based digital bank, has launched fractional trading of US stocks and ETFs through its app, partnering with Saxo Singapore to offer access to over 7,000 US securities. The service allows customers to buy slices of stocks starting from US$10, with no commission fees until June 30, 2026. Customers making their first trade of at least US$1,000 can also win free fractional stock worth up to US$500. Since opening registration in November 2025, about 10,000 customers have created trading accounts, with 45% participating in fractional trades. The platform integrates trading directly within the Trust app, eliminating the need for separate accounts or transfers. Saxo Singapore, with over 30 years of online trading experience, powers the brokerage service. Trust Bank emphasizes its goal to make investing simple and accessible, but notes all investments carry risks, and the offering is not a recommendation to buy or sell. Food for thought. Fintechs can capture demand for transparent cost comparisons. * Trust Bank is entering the crowded brokerage market for US stocks and ETFs through its partnership with Saxo Singapore, which leaves room for specialized financial technology firms 1. * Fintech operators and financial publishers can build calculators for the full cost of trading, with close attention to foreign exchange conversion spreads that are hard to spot 1. * These tools can attract users who want the lowest all-in cost, then deliver leads to brokers with transparent, all-in pricing through affiliate partnerships. How would you feel if you could no longer use Tech in Asia?