Singapore Continues Push to Dominate Asia Fintech with Swiss Cooperation Agreement

Singapore has a policy objective to become a global Fintech hub and today they are announcing another step in that direction. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has joined with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to sign an agreement to engender greater cooperation in Fintech innovation.

This specific initiative was launched at the second Financial Dialogue between the MAS and the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF) being held in Bern, Switzerland this week. This annual Dialogue aims to deepen cooperation and exchange views on domestic and international financial market developments and policies. Representatives of the SIF and MAS met to deepen their bilateral cooperation and perspective on domestic and international financial market developments and policies. The dialogue was led by Ambassador René Weber, Head of the Markets Division SIF, with representatives from FINMA and the Swiss National Bank (SNB). Jacqueline Loh, Deputy Managing Director of MAS, headed the Singapore’s delegation.

The agreement between the two governmental agencies provides a framework for innovative Fintech companies in Singapore and Switzerland to expedite initial discussions on introducing new Fintech solutions in each other’s market and understand regulatory requirements, thus helping to reduce regulatory uncertainty and the time-to-market for these new Fintech solutions. The agreement will also help to create opportunities for Fintech businesses from Singapore and Switzerland to expand into each other’s markets. FINMA and MAS have also committed to share information about emerging FinTech trends and regulatory issues pertaining to innovation.

FINMA has been working on the emerging FinTech sector regarding authorisation, supervision and regulation. FINMA has stated that innovative trends and ideas require a solid framework within which to operate, while clients and the financial system as a whole need protection during this shift in direction. FINMA’s CEO has publicly embraced the importance of technological progress.