Top 8 Singapore Fintechs: The best cultures and best salaries
Singapore is one of the fastest growing spaces for fintech, from publicly listed decacorns to aspiring unicorns, there's a wealth of opportunity. The question is, who offers the best compensation and which company is the best place to work.
Here are ten of the prime destinations for fintech workers in Singapore and who they're hiring right now:
Grab
Starting with a name that should be familiar to everyone, transportation turned financial services company Grab went public in 2021 with a valuation of $39.6B. Though their market cap has more than halved since then, the firm is still a Decacorn and it pays its staff accordingly.
Levels.fyi reports that an entry-level Grab engineer earns a total compensation of $94k yearly with a $76k base salary. The highest compensation reported by a Singapore engineer in 2022 was $186.7k.
Employee reviews of Grab are largely positive but vary from site to site. On Glassdoor the firm sit at a very good 4.3 stars but on Blind, the average score is just 3.5. Reviews in 2023 praise "good work-life balance," "flexibility," and "good working culture," while negative reviews call it "too beauraucratic" and lament the excessive meetings required to get things done.
Grab are hiring for 19 roles in their Singapore office though none of those are in the engineering department. They are however recruiting multiple Data Scientists.
Wise
Though their headquarters is based in London, money transfer fintech Wise secured a spot in the top 5 for Singapore's best places to work in 2022 from the Straits times. We already put them in our top 10 fintechs for London, and the unicorn doesn't fail to disappoint in Singapore either.
For Singapore specifically, glassdoor reviews in 2023 have been positive. One calls it a "top 10 employer" in Singapore and another praises its "good working culture and people." The biggest complaint in 2023 has been a change in management affecting culture.
They don't scrimp in the compensation department either. According to levels.fyi salary data. Both L2 and L3 engineers for Wise in Singapore make upwards of $100k. The most recently recorded compensation was their highest in the country, $129.5k TC with a $111k salary.
Wise are hiring 19 roles in Singapore right now but there's bad news for engineers. There are no open engineering roles at the SIngapore office. Instead the majority of open slots are in compliance.
Airwallex
B2B platforms fintech unicorn Airwallex might be based in Hong Kong, but its hiring more people in Singapore than anywhere else.
The company at large might have a decent if not underwhelming average rating of 3.7 stars on glassdoor, but for reviews in Singapore specifically, that number shoots up to a phenomenal 4.7. Reviews call it "a rocket ship" that is "intellectually and financially rewarding," yet maintains a "vibrant and fun culture."
The financially rewarding aspect seems to be true according to salary data. Glassdoor estimates the average TC for an Airwallex engineer to be $134k.
Airwallex are hiring 68 roles in Singapore, with engineering roles across various departments including data science and machine learning.
Nium
B2B fintech unicorn Nium got its unicorn status back in 2021 and is looking to keep up its momentum as the market slows down by bringing in a number of staff to their Singapore HQ.
Nium and Airwallex share a similar story when it comes to Glassdoor reviews. Like the latter, the former has a global score of 3.7 but a Singapore score of 4.7, though here the firm has 100% reccomendation rate and CEO approval. Reviews praise a "healthy work environment" with "no politics nor favouritism."
NIUM appear to pay their engineers very handsomely as well, the Glassdoor average salary is $141k. It's currently hiring 15 people in Singapore though, as with Wise, these are dominated by compliance staff.
OKX
Looking for an opportunity to work in Crypto in Singapore? OKX might be your destination. Its culture is far more divisive than other entries on this list but the compensation is second to none if you're a quant.
On jobs forum Blind, engineering quants in Singapore listed the compensation packages they were offered by the firm last year. The highest compensation offered was up to $360k SGD ($274.3k USD) from 5 years of experience while an engineer on two years of experience reported a TC of $210k.
Online reviews from Singapore predominantly praise the salary and benefits alongside a good office location. The recurring issue in many negative reviews is the apparent necessity to speak and write in mandarin. Alongside that are issues raised of a top-down culture that is allegedly highly politicised. If those issues don't scare you away, the compensation should more than make up for it.
OKX is currently hiring for 48 positions in Singapore, including a large number of engineering and product roles. It also offers a graduate program for both frontend and backend engineers.
Blockchain.com
If you still want to work in Crypto but prefer a more autonomous working method, Blockchain.com could be the right place, though engineers might have a hard time getting in.
The firm sits on a largely positive 4.3 stars on Glassdoor. Blind reviews on the other hand come in at a less favourable 3.2, so take that with a pinch of salt.
One positive review from Singapore praises the "freedom" saying they "answer only to the boss." This does have its drawbacks though, as they claim there is "lesser guidance than bigger companies.
Blockchain.com is hiring just 3 roles in Singapore at the moment, none of which are in engineering. When a role does rear its head, you'll want to act quickly, as the company offers a median TC of $154k according to Levels.fyi.
XanPool
Part of the allure of a fintech is working in a smaller, tightly-knit team. A smaller company on the verge of mass expansion that looks worth getting involved in right now is software solutions provider XanPool.
The firm, according to Crunchbase and Glassdoor, XanPool has up to 50 employees, but the firm is currently hiring for 33 roles.
Reviewers love it. The fintech has an average score of 4.4 on Glassdoor, with staff calling it "the place to be" due to its "young" and "quick-moving culture."
17 of the current open positions are in Singapore, 8 of which are in technology, product and engineering.
Pace
The BNPL sector isn't in the best shape as a whole right now. Nonetheless, if that's something you're passionate about, a great place to work in Singapore right now is Pace.
Reviews are very positive, sitting at 4.1 stars on Glassdoor. The culture seems very collaborative and supportive, with one review saying its "welcoming to newcomers" while another says "everyone was willing to help and guide me."
8 of the 19 available roles at the fintech are in Singapore. There's a fair few leadership positions as well, including lead risk analyst for traditional finance professionals and principal architecht for technologists.
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