Three key FinTech trends in 2019

31 January 2020

The year 2019 saw a number of regulatory and industry developments in the Singapore FinTech arena, with key trends in the areas of regulatory reform, innovation and international collaboration building on the momentum generated the previous year. We are pleased to highlight the following in our FinTech Update:

• Introduction of regulatory reform across sectors: The new regime introduced under the Payment Services Act 2019 effective on 28 January 2020 overhauls the previous regime for the regulation of payment systems and payment service providers. The new regime recognises the continuing evolution of payment activities and the growing convergence of payment activities across sectors and would affect financial institutions, providers of payment services, entities providing FinTech services and large corporations. In another development, the announcement of the extension of digital bank licences to non-bank players marks a new chapter in the liberalisation of Singapore’s banking industry. 
• Initiatives to encourage innovation: New initiatives like the Accelerate Initiative for Artificial Intelligence (AI²) and Sandbox Express were rolled out to facilitate the development of innovations in the FinTech sphere. The extension of the FinTech Fast Track Initiative to April 2020, the success of the Business sans Borders Phase One Proof-of-Concept and the progression into the fifth phase of Project Ubin show continuity in initiatives that had been undertaken in previous years.
• International collaborations: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced collaborations with their counterparts and organisations in Cambodia, China, Kenya, France, Canada and the UK. The MAS partnership with the Bank for International Settlements (“BIS”) to launch the BIS Innovation Hub Centre in Singapore also reflects the success of Singapore’s efforts in FinTech and innovation.

To read more about these three key FinTech trends in Singapore, please click here.