IFAST

iFAST Corporation was founded as a wealth management and investment platform in 2000, registered in Singapore. It was established by Lim Chung Chun and Moh Hon Meng, beginning as an online platform for distributing investment funds. The financial firm launched its first financial product shortly afterwards, known as Fundsupermart.

iFAST Corporation was listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on 11 December 2014 under the stock code AIY.^[1] The listing followed its initial public offering earlier that month and marked a significant milestone in the company’s corporate development. Admission to the SGX provided iFAST with access to public capital markets to support its regional expansion and technology investment plans.

In 2020, iFAST Corporation led a consortium with China’s Yillion Bank and Hande Group to submit an application for one of Singapore’s three maiden wholesale bank licences. The licences were created under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s new digital banking regime.^[2]

While still based in Singapore during the Covid-19 pandemic, the investment platform experienced rapid growth amid a surge in retail investor participation across south-east Asia. This was in part due to partnerships with Nikkei Asia and research provider Statista, along with a growing interest in retail investing in Asia-Pacific markets during the pandemic. As a result, it’s assets under administration (AUA) increased by 45 per cent year-on-year to S$14.5 billion in 2020. The growth fuelled a doubling of iFAST's share price in 2020.^[3] The Financial Times also identified iFAST Corporation as one of the fastest growing companies in the Asia Pacific region for two consecutive years.^[4] They ranked iFAST inside the top 500 fastest growing businesses in both 2021 and 2022 lists.^[4][5]

In 2022, iFAST Corporation diversified from wealth investing in by acquiring BFC Bank, a UK-based bank specialising in foreign exchange and remittance services.^[6] Setting up or acquiring an online bank was part of its 5 year plan to build a global business model.^[7] Initially it acquired an 85% stake in the bank with the acquisition deal totalling £40 million,^[8] with MMSS Investments retaining a 15% share in the bank. Following the acquisition, BFC was renamed iFAST Global Bank in April 2022.^[9] During an interview with The Business Times, Lim Chung Chun stated that iFAST could continue to provide "simple" banking solutions, in comparison to more complex local banks. This made it difficult to compare the two, since iFAST GB would focus on "collecting deposits, deploying the deposits in a safe and conservative manner, and earning net interest margin."^[10]

A major part of iFAST Global Bank's strategy was to make previous cross-border transactions much easier for its clients.^[11] Prior to this, many UK banking customers had used intermediaries and financial service providers rather than their own banks.^[12] In 2023, iFAST Global Bank launched its first personal account that offered such services with multi-currency accounts that had no additional fees. Despite operating in the UK, the personal banking solutions would be open to customers worldwide.^[13] It initially launched offering currency deposits in six currencies,^[14] namely the US dollar, British pound, Euro, Hong Kong dollar, Singapore dollar and Renminbi.^[15]

In 2024, iFAST Global Bank continued to expand its digital banking and multi-currency capabilities, as part of iFAST Corporation’s strategy to build a global banking and wealth management platform.^[16]

In early 2025, during an interview with The Business Times the bank's Chief Executive stated that they were considering more banking licenses in both Singapore and the EU. This was part of a wider expansion strategy for the bank to become a truly global operation.^[17] In May, iFAST GB was named the "Best Newcomer" at the 2025 British Bank Awards.^[18] During the same year, iFAST Corporation was also recognised as a top 200 top-performing small and mid-cap firms in the Asia-Pacific by Forbes.^[19][20] It measured firms with annual sales ranging from over US$10 million (S$12.9 million) to under US$1 billion.^[21]

At the beginning of 2026, iFAST Corporation announced that it had acquired a 30% stake in the financial advisory firm, Financial Alliance Corporation.^[22] The deal was valued at S$19.6 million for the network of more than 450 financial advisers in Singapore. This came at a time when iFAST Corporation representatives stated in the media strengthen its presence in the financial advisory space.^[23]

The online bank has focused its accounts heavily on international customers, or those who have lived or travel to multiple regions. An example of this might be an expat, or an international business person who works in multiple countries. Rather than having to setup or have multiple accounts, the customer can have a single bank account, capable of holding various currencies. Along side the multi-currency approach is iFAST GB also has cross-border functionality.^[11]

In 2024, it rolled out EzRemit for its personal banking customers, a service that allowed cross-currency transfers for more than 50 countries and currencies. It was seen as an expansion of their existing offer, with the transfers remaining fee-free.^[24]

The bank offers a number of saving services, including bonds. In 2025, The Guardian highlighted its 5.1% two-year bond as one of the most competitive available at the time.^[25]