Singapore Tier 1 Bank - Finative Dev

Singapore Tier 1 Bank

A permanent, MAS-compliant engineering center, built under a full Build-Operate-Transfer model

A Tier-1 Singapore bank serving 4M+ customers across Southeast Asia needed a permanent, owned engineering center in a cost-competitive market — without the 25%+ attrition and fragmented vendor model it was running under.

$4M

Annual IT COST SAVING

2.8x

Release frequency

↓64%

ONBOARDING TIME

At a glance

Client

Tier-1
Singapore
Bank

Engagement Model

Build-Operate-
Transfer

Duration

39 months

Team Size

Up to 50
engineers

Three problems, one root cause

Scaling a digital banking roadmap in Singapore had become structurally unsustainable.

Scaling Constraints

Building a 50-engineer digital team in Singapore was unsustainable due to high costs and 25%+ attrition rates.

Fragmented Delivery Model

Reliance on multiple vendors limited ownership across frontend, integration, and core banking layers.

Execution & Compliance Pressure

Demand for open banking, payments, and MAS compliance required faster delivery and end-to-end accountability.

A Center of Excellence, built to eventually not
need us

50 engineers and specialists delivered the bank's full digital banking roadmap across two tracks: Digital Banking Platform Development and Core Banking Integration.

Build

Month 1–6

Set up legal entity, secure infrastructure, and an initial team of 15 engineers — ensuring compliance and tooling readiness with the bank’s approval.

Operate

Month 7–30

Scaled to a 50-engineer Center of Excellence delivering end-to-end digital banking solutions — 14 major product releases, high release velocity, and a passed MAS TRM (Monetary Authority of Singapore Technology Risk Management) third-party outsourcing audit.

Transfer

Month 31–36

Transitioned full ownership — team, IP, and operations — with zero disruption to delivery continuity. 90-day advisory support followed, with full exit at month 39.