Mr. Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Mr. Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of MAS were in Sydney in March and took the opportunity to share about development of the FinTech ecosystem and the upcoming Singapore FinTech Festival #SGFinTechFest, to be held 13 – 17 November 2017.
Mr. Menon provided insight into Singapore’s ‘Smart Nation’ vision and the government’s efforts to drive innovation in the Financial Sector as part of this vision.
“Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) speaking in Sydney”
Singapore is one of the world’s leading financial centres, and has an established and thriving FinTech sector. The integration of banking services and data, including electronic and digital payment data, is moving quickly along with greater use of technology for smart banking and across the finance industry. The development of FinTech so far, had focused on digital payments, the application of blockchain and distributed ledger technology as well as open platforms and APIs to augment how financial services can be accessed and delivered has become more prominent. Tasked with leading developmental efforts in FinTech, MAS set up its Financial Technology and Innovation Group and appointed its own Chief Fintech Officer to oversee its efforts to build Singapore as a Smart Financial Centre, where technology is applied pervasively to create new opportunities and improve people’s lives.
Mr. Mohanty said, “In just the last two years Singapore has seen a lot of innovation efforts across the sector especially in banks. He added that the MAS will focus on four key areas in the next phase of FinTech development: establishing an open architecture, facilitating cloud computing, enhancing cybersecurity and creating a national digital identity.”
Beyond developing its own FinTech infrastructure, Singapore is also working closely with its counterparts and banks across the ASEAN region to explore ways to tap the power of FinTech to increase market access, enhance financial inclusion and propel the growth of financial services within the region.
Singapore also has a mature venture capitalist ecosystem and good capital pool for start-ups to tap into. The MAS which acts as both the regulator and market developer is also very supportive of the growth of FinTech. They have put in place the necessary infrastructure and tools to facilitate the development of Singapore as a FinTech hub including a Financial Sector Technology & Innovation grant scheme, various outreach platforms and a regulatory sandbox for the industry to test out innovative ideas. Their efforts have paid off as Singapore is now home to close to 30 innovation labs, and has thriving FinTech hubs, such as Lattice80.
Mr. Mohanty added that the growth of FinTech in Singapore does not come without challenges as the industry faces a talent shortage. He said that cybersecurity skills are in great demand, but this is not limited to the FinTech industry.
