Large technology-driven firms such as Amazon, Google and Facebook, among others, are targeting financial payments as new offerings or additions to what they already do. Ant Financial, the Chinese firm, is pushing more heavily into the space, reaching outside its domestic market.

Ant Financial, the affiliate business to e-commerce giant Alibaba, has applied for a digital banking licence in Singapore, highlighting how such tech players are taking aim at the financial services sector. 

The firm applied to the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a wholesale licence, which would allow it to serve corporate clients, the Straits Times of Singapore quoted the firm as saying. (WealthBriefingAsia has contacted Ant Financial to confirm the report and add details.)

"We look forward to contributing to the development of the digital banking landscape in Singapore," the organisation is quoted as saying in an email.

Singapore’s regulator is offering as many as five digital banking permits to non-banks in a bid to open up the financial industry to new competitors. If it gets a licence, Ant Financial will be competing against traditional players such as DBS and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.

The report noted that Southeast Asia's digital lending market is expected to more than quadruple to $110 billion by 2025, citing a report by Bain & Co, Google and Temasek Holdings.

Ant Financial, widely known for its payment service Alipay, is preparing for an initial public offering.

Alibaba and Ant Financial have recently unveiled a number of senior executive changes.