Questions raised as tech giant Sea tells S’pore staff to credit salaries into MariBank accounts

Some Sea employees said they felt like there could be consequences if they declined to open a MariBank account for salary crediting.

PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Published Sep 18, 2026, 10:25 PM

Updated Sep 18, 2026, 11:04 PM

SINGAPORE – Sea’s staff based here will soon have their salaries credited into accounts with MariBank, the digital bank the tech giant owns.

Employees were informed earlier in September of the move, which has prompted questions over whether it is legal for companies to make such mandates.

“Starting from the October payroll, MariBank will be the mandatory salary crediting bank for all Singapore-based employees of Sea,” read an internal memo to employees seen by The Straits Times.

Staff who bank with MariBank could help it improve the product and build trust with the public, the e-mail said.

Staff who update their salary crediting details by Sept 17 will receive a $100 Shopee voucher. Those who already have their salaries credited to MariBank are also eligible for the voucher.

Employees also enjoy preferential rates and promotions on eligible MariBank personal loans. The staff memo added that the bank expects to introduce more products, features and employee benefits over time.

Sea operates three core businesses through its digital entertainment arm Garena, e-commerce platform Shopee, and digital payments and financial services arm Monee, previously known as SeaMoney.

The memo left some employees with the impression that they were required to open a MariBank account, and that there could be consequences if they did not.

However, ST understands that employees who do not wish to use MariBank can retain their existing arrangement.

Despite the memo saying crediting MariBank would be “mandatory”, additional details linked in the e-mail announcement acknowledged that some staff may have “personal circumstances that require them to continue using another salary crediting account”.

“In su ch cases, please reach out to your human resources business partner for a discussion,” the company said.

Khelvin Xu, director at law firm Covenant Chambers, said that employers in Singapore cannot force employees to receive their salary through a specific bank unless it is provided for in the employment contract.

“Since the employer cannot force an employee to use a particular bank account, what is there to discuss if the employee does not wish to switch?”

Without such a contractual right, an employer is unlikely to be able to force an employee to use a specific bank if the employee refuses, he said.

Even if the employer proposes an amendment to the terms of the employment, the employee can disagree with it. It may be necessary for the employer to incentivise employees to agree to this amendment, he added.

Xu noted that it is not an offence for employers to request that employees receive salaries only through accounts in a specific bank.

Employees could politely decline on the basis that they are under no obligation to comply, said Xu.

If the employer maintains its position, employees may ultimately be required to decide if it’s worth continuing to stand their ground at the risk of possible adverse consequences, including a dissatisfied employer making their working circumstances difficult.

Or, they may decide to comply, particularly if the perceived inconvenience outweighs other benefits of remaining with the employer – especially if the employees are not currently prepared to seek alternative work.

It is common for bank employees here to be required to receive their salaries through accounts with the bank they work for, based on checks with several local and foreign banks operating here.

Employees of two banks told ST that they had no option to decline.

Bank employees whom ST spoke to said they do not consider it problematic to open a salary account with their employer bank as they can transfer their funds to another bank as they please.

Some banks also offer perks for staff such as preferential rates and fee waivers.

At Citi, perks include fee waivers on eligible credit cards and preferential rates on foreign exchange transactions and fixed deposits.

OCBC said crediting salaries into OCBC accounts helps streamline payroll processing, minimises the risk of interbank processing delays, and ensures that staff receive their salaries on time.

Staff who choose eligible OCBC accounts for salary crediting enjoy preferential interest rates, an OCBC spokesperson said.

Also citing operational efficiency, UOB said it requires employees to maintain an account with it for salary crediting. Employee banking benefits include preferential rates and fee waivers for certain accounts, credit cards and other banking services.

The same goes for Standard Chartered, which makes salary crediting “simple and efficient” while enabling employees to access staff banking privileges across products and services.

However, not all banks mandate where staff get their salaries credited.

Grab- and Singtel-backed digital bank GXS said employees can choose to credit their salary in their bank account of choice.

ST understands that Singapore’s largest bank, DBS, does not require its staff to credit their salaries to accounts with the bank, although most do so.

Employees ST spoke to said DBS provides benefits such as preferential interest rates for salary crediting accounts with the bank.

Xu stressed that employers cannot legally delay, withhold nor restrict payment of the employee’s salary if they refuse to open an account with the designated bank, adding that failing to pay salary in accordance with the Employment Act is a criminal offence.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said that under the Employment Act, employers are legally responsible for paying salaries in full and on time.

Employers should engage their employees on the options for modes of payment, a MOM spokesperson said.

If there is an alleged violation of the Employment Act, affected employees may seek assistance at https://www.mom.gov.sg/eservices/services/report-an-employment-act-violation , the spokesperson said.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it expects banks to comply with all applicable employment laws and regulations.

“They should engage with their employees to explain and address any concerns that employees may have with their employment terms,” a MAS spokesperson said.

Ministry of Manpower

一些Sea员工表示，他们觉得如果拒绝开设MariBank账户接收工资，可能会有后果。

图片来源：联合早报

发布于 2026 年 9 月 18 日晚上 10:25

更新于2026年9月18日晚上11:04

新加坡——Sea公司在新加坡的员工很快将收到存入其旗下数字银行MariBank账户的工资。

员工们在 9 月初就被告知了这一举措，这引发了人们对公司做出此类强制规定是否合法的质疑。

《海峡时报》看到的一份内部备忘录写道：“从 10 月份的工资发放开始，MariBank 将成为 Sea 所有新加坡员工的强制性工资入账银行。”

邮件中说，在MariBank开户的员工可以帮助该银行改进产品并建立公众信任。

凡在9月17日前更新工资入账信息的员工，均可获得价值100新元的Shopee购物券。工资已入账MariBank的员工也有资格获得该购物券。

员工还可享受符合条件的MariBank个人贷款的优惠利率和促销活动。员工备忘录还补充道，银行预计未来将推出更多产品、功能和员工福利。

Sea 通过其数字娱乐部门 Garena、电子商务平台 Shopee 以及数字支付和金融服务部门 Monee（前身为 SeaMoney）运营三大核心业务。

该备忘录给一些员工留下了这样的印象：他们必须开设一个 MariBank 账户，如果不开设，可能会有后果。

然而，ST了解到，不愿使用MariBank的员工可以保留他们现有的安排。

尽管备忘录称将工资存入 MariBank 账户是“强制性的”，但电子邮件公告中链接的附加细节承认，一些员工可能有“个人情况需要他们继续使用另一个工资存入账户”。

“遇到这种情况，请联系您的人力资源业务伙伴进行讨论，”该公司表示。

新加坡律师事务所 Covenant Chambers 的董事 Khelvin Xu 表示，除非雇佣合同另有规定，否则新加坡的雇主不能强迫雇员通过特定银行领取工资。

“既然雇主不能强迫雇员使用特定的银行账户，那么如果雇员不愿意更换账户，又有什么好讨论的呢？”

他说，如果没有这样的合同权利，如果雇员拒绝，雇主不太可能强迫雇员使用特定的银行。

即使雇主提出修改雇佣条款的提议，雇员也可以不同意。他补充说，雇主可能需要采取激励措施来促使雇员同意这项修改。

徐指出，雇主要求雇员只能通过特定银行的账户领取工资并不违法。

徐表示，员工可以礼貌地拒绝，因为他们没有义务遵守。

如果雇主坚持己见，员工最终可能需要决定是否值得冒着可能带来的不利后果（包括雇主不满，从而导致工作环境恶化）的风险继续坚持立场。

或者，他们可能会决定遵守，尤其是在感受到的不便超过了留在雇主那里的其他好处时——特别是如果员工目前还没有准备好寻找其他工作。

根据与多家在本地运营的本地和外国银行的核实结果，这里的银行员工通常需要通过其所在银行的账户领取工资。

两家银行的员工告诉《海峡时报》，他们别无选择，只能拒绝。

《海峡时报》采访的银行员工表示，他们不认为在雇主银行开设工资账户有什么问题，因为他们可以随时将资金转移到其他银行。

一些银行还会为员工提供优惠利率和费用减免等福利。

花旗银行提供的优惠包括符合条件的信用卡免收手续费，以及外汇交易和定期存款的优惠利率。

华侨银行表示，将工资存入华侨银行账户有助于简化工资处理流程，最大限度地降低银行间处理延迟的风险，并确保员工按时收到工资。

华侨银行发言人表示，选择符合条件的华侨银行账户作为工资入账账户的员工可享受优惠利率。

大华银行也以提升运营效率为由，要求员工必须在该行开设账户才能接收工资。员工银行福利包括特定账户、信用卡和其他银行服务的优惠利率和费用减免。

渣打银行也是如此，它让工资入账变得“简单高效”，同时让员工能够享受各种产品和服务的员工银行特权。

然而，并非所有银行都规定员工的工资发放地点。

由 Grab 和 Singtel 支持的数字银行 GXS 表示，员工可以选择将工资存入他们选择的银行账户。

据《海峡时报》了解，新加坡最大的银行星展银行并不要求员工将工资存入该银行的账户，尽管大多数员工都这样做。

接受《海峡时报》采访的员工表示，星展银行提供诸多福利，例如为在该行存入工资的账户提供优惠利率。

徐强调，如果用人单位拒绝在指定银行开户，用人单位不能合法地拖延、扣留或限制支付用人单位的工资，并补充说，不按照《雇佣法》支付工资是刑事犯罪。

人力部表示，根据《雇佣法令》，雇主有法律责任按时足额支付工资。

人力部发言人表示，雇主应与员工协商各种付款方式。

发言人表示，如果存在涉嫌违反《雇佣法令》的情况，受影响的员工可以访问 https://www.mom.gov.sg/eservices/services/report-an-employment-act-violation 寻求帮助。

新加坡金融管理局（MAS）表示，希望各银行遵守所有适用的劳动法律法规。

“他们应该与员工沟通，解释并解决员工可能对雇佣条款存在的任何疑虑，”新加坡金融管理局发言人表示。

人力部