Singapore – Bank DBS partners sgCarMart, Carro in new online car portal

Local bank DBS of Singapore entered the car sales industry on Thursday (Aug 10) with the launch of its online consumer marketplace for car buyers and sellers it calls DBS Car Marketplace.

With partners sgCarMart and Carro – both popular car sales online portals – it will be Singapore’s first online consumer marketplace helmed by a bank.

The move follows the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) announcement in June that it would streamline regulatory requirements for banks in Singapore seeking to conduct or invest in non-financial businesses that are related or complementary to their core financial businesses.

Under the updated framework, it allowed banks to engage in the operation of digital platforms that match buyers and sellers of consumer goods or services, as well as the online sale of such goods or services.

“DBS Car Marketplace … connects buyers and sellers together at a marketplace that contains the largest number of direct-owner car listings, and ensures that they have full control and transparency over every stage of the process,” said Mr Jeremy Soo, the bank’s head of Consumer Banking (Singapore).

The bank said sellers who use the new platform will be able to list on both sgCarMart and Carro for free, as listing fees are waived until Oct 4. It is also offering an online interest rate of 1.99 per cent per annum (EIR 3.77 per cent per annum over a seven-year loan) on car loans when consumers buy a car through the the marketplace until Aug 31.

The site features a car budget calculator to provide the estimated loan amount the buyer is eligible for, as well as the facility to book a test drive online with the seller directly. Both parties will enjoy free paperwork services for transfers too, said the bank.

Said sgCarMart general manager Vincent Tan: “The number of direct owners trying to sell their car on sgCarMart has been steadily increasing by at least 10 per cent every year. We see a huge opportunity to tap into this growing market given this trend, and help speed the growth along.”