10 Best Tech Companies to Work For 2019
WINNER - Mid-sized Organisations, 2019

About M-DAQ

M-DAQ is the global leader in over-the-top (OTT) cross-border "Alternative Risk Transfer (ART)" solutions with a vision to create a World Without Currency Borders. We aspire to break down both physical and psychological barriers in cross-border transactions. We empower e-Commerce platforms, securities exchanges, financial intermediaries, payment gateways and digital wallets through our full suite of cross-border solutions. Our last official financing round was a S$118m Series C round in November 2015. M-DAQ achieved full year net profitability in FY2018 and has grown by ~1000 times in the last 4 financial years, helping to price over S$6.6bn of sales.

Our Core Values

We practice

  • Respect for each other

  • Integrity and honesty

  • Customer Centricity

  • High performance and quality of work

M-DAQ's achievements are the culmination of the hard work and expertise of a fantastic mix of employees collaborating in an environment that provides flexibility, favours autonomy, and promotes agility. This is achieved by consciously crafting a workplace experience that gives each and every employee ample space to engage their creativity and optimize productivity.

Our People & Culture

An organisation whose culture is strongly guided by a family focused, people-first philosophy, M-DAQ constantly seeks to provide an environment where colleagues can foster interpersonal relationships and build camaraderie, creating opportunities for interaction amongst "family members".

Open Communication

Organisational Structure - M-DAQ keeps a flat organisation structure, eliminating unnecessary layers and facilitating quicker coordination and communication. Having open lines of communication and collaboration improves the employee experience. Without the ranks and titles, there is greater interaction between junior and more senior employees. The leadership empower employees to make decisions, playing instead a more supportive, advisory role. While new joiners from larger, more hierarchical organisations may be less accustomed to this at first, they adjust quickly and eventually come to embrace the freedom and openness.

Management Transparency - Over the years, M-DAQ has progressed and grown in size. However, keeping all M-DAQers aligned with the company's goals and direction remains a key priority. One way we achieve this is to make known the company's revenue and sales figures. Business intelligence reports can also be viewed by every employee so that everyone is privy to M-DAQ's progress and shortcomings. Regular town halls are held so that the leadership can address the rest of the company, and each employee is aware of the company's standing and future plans in greater detail. Townhall sessions also serve as an opportunity for employees to ask questions or raise any feedback, and this builds engagement between senior leaders and employees.

At M-DAQ, our Open Door policy means that all M-DAQers are welcome to approach the leadership directly with any concerns or questions that they may face. No issue is too small, and no employee is too insignificant - each M-DAQer is of equal standing and greatly valued.

Communal Spaces

Walk into M-DAQ's office and you will quickly realise that the office was designed with a people-centred perspective. The various common spaces in M-DAQ accommodate both bigger group and smaller group interactions, with none other than the well-stocked pantry and fully furnished kitchen at the heart of it all. Besides the discussion pods and versatile The Fishbone™ Table which serve as conducive spaces for effective communication and solutioning, M-DAQ's kitchen (GoDutch Cafe™) is a catalyst for casual gatherings and cultural exchanges. Being able to cook together and eat together instantly builds rapport and makes for a familial environment. It also encourages colleagues from different cultural backgrounds to try each culture's foods and learn new things about each other. Such exchanges are invaluable in contributing to M-DAQ's company culture, and form an intrinsic part of the M-DAQ experience.

The mental health and well-being of each employee is crucial to maintaining positivity within the company. M-DAQ endorses this by providing free access to a gym and 40m indoor swimming pool, making it easy for employees to stay fit and healthy. Other recreational facilities like the outdoor Jacuzzi, steam bath, karaoke room, pool and ping pong table provide an avenue for destressing and relaxation. M-DAQ firmly believes that healthy, happy employees make better products and provide superior customer service.

Advocating Innovation

Agile Methodology - M-DAQ's technology teams adopt the Agile methodology, where self-organising teams use an adaptive approach to software development. The short feedback loop and adaptation cycle allow for a rapid and flexible response to change, and continual improvements to the product. Through Agile, teams have the autonomy to innovate, make decisions, and use creative and novel ways of designing products in a collaborative manner. This allows for stronger cohesion, with each team feeling a sense of ownership and responsibility.

Fishbone Sessions - As Dr Linus Pauling once said: "The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas". At M-DAQ, regular sharing sessions create opportunities for knowledge transfer and intellectual discourse to take place. On a voluntary basis, individuals pick various topics to talk about, whether it's a new technology they recently came across, or some tips and best practices for performing certain tasks. These sessions achieve multiple positive outcomes. They act as an avenue for colleagues to share their passions and personal interests, open up a channel for candid dialogue and discussion, and create a fertile environment for new ideas to spring forth. New ideas that are directly relevant to our business cases are assigned a small taskforce so that these ideas can be tested and prototyped quickly. Viable ideas are further developed and eventually presented to potential partners and investors.

Boomerang Award

A boomerang spins in a curved path and travels in an ellipse, returning to its point of origin. Keeping employee turnover to a minimum is a crucial aspect of people management. Yet, in every organisation, some turnover is inevitable. Some employees desire a change in career or a new environment to work in. Acknowledging this, M-DAQ has in place a Boomerang policy, where M-DAQ's door is always open for ex-employees to come back. Employees who have boomerang-ed bring with them valuable experiences that contribute to their own development, and they invariably add value to M-DAQ by introducing new knowledge and fresh perspectives to the company. To date, M-DAQ has given out 7 boomerangs. Returning M-DAQers receive an actual boomerang clearly inscribed with "Act I - Start and End Date" and "Act II - Start date", awarded to them during a formal ceremony. As such, no one actually leaves M-DAQ, they were merely taking a sabbatical.

Our Accolades

  • 2018 Inaugural SG:D Techblazer Award - Most Impactful, Gold (the top prize)

  • 2018 Asia Pacific ICT Alliance (APICTA) Awards - Business Services (the only Singapore company which won)

  • 2018 Singapore Computer Society (SCS) Entrepreneur of the Year Award

  • 2016 Inaugural MAS Fintech Award, First Runner Up (Open Category)