MariBank courts young money with child accounts and global stock trading
Sea's digital bank will let kids transact inside parent-set guardrails and plans US and global equities from early 2027. It also scrapped its $100,000 deposit cap.
MariBank is rolling out child accounts and global stock trading for 16-28 year-olds, and has lifted its deposit cap, as it pushes beyond Sea's ecosystem.
Sea-owned MariBank is making two moves to lock in young customers: child accounts and global stock trading.
Child accounts, with guardrails
Targeted for launch in the first quarter of 2027, the child account will let children make their own transactions within parent-set guardrails. Adding a debit card to a mobile wallet on a new device will require explicit parental approval. MariBank head of consumer business Huo Haiyan told The Straits Times the idea came from senior management and an internal survey.
Beyond the Sea ecosystem
The bank will add US and global equities from early 2027. About 30% of MariBank customers already have a Mari Invest account, and one in four Mari Invest customers are in their 20s. Huo said making investing simple, reliable and rewarding for younger customers is key.
MariBank also lifted its $100,000 individual deposit cap in April. A few thousand transactions were rejected monthly when customers hit the cap. Customer deposits rose from $1.54 billion in 2024 to $2.82 billion by 2025. The ShopeeVIP partnership was the main driver of deposit growth; within one month of launch, users who claimed bonus interest rates doubled their balances. More than 50% of customers now come from outside Shopee.
The takeaway: MariBank is building a youth pipeline and pushing beyond Shopee, but the 2027 product details are still thin.
Summary written by Oh Cannot from the original report by Straits Times. Not financial advice.
