Singapore is one of the most forward-thinking Fintech hubs in the world. Today, its top financial regulatory, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has reaffirmed its support of Fintech and announced it will provide S$150 million to innovative firms over the next three years. The financial commitment is under the “renewed” Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 3.0).
The funds will cover three different tracks:
- Enhanced Centre of Excellence track – Formerly known as the Innovation Labs track. These grants are expected to cover 50% of qualifying firms and is capped at S$2 million per project
- ESG, or environmental, social, and governance initiatives to aid in the development of data and reporting – a challenging task in the nebulous sector. Funds are capped at S$500,000 per project and at 50% as well
- AI or Artificial Intelligence, as well as Regtech, is on the list too.
Ravi Menon, longtime MAS Managing Director, commented on the funding:
“Since 2015, the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) has awarded $340 million as part of the FSTI programme to drive the adoption of technology and innovation in the financial sector. Transformative technology projects that MAS has piloted with the industry include SGFinDex, Project Orchid’s Purpose Bound Money, Project Veritas’ Responsible AI, green and sustainable finance through Project Greenprint, as well as large payment initiatives such as the cross-border payment linkage with Thailand. Notably, FSTI 1.0 and 2.0 helped strengthen the digital capabilities of financial institutions which served them and their customers through the COVID pandemic. With FSTI 3.0, we look forward to continued collaboration with the industry to advance purposeful financial innovation.”
FTSE 3.0 was initially revealed at Singapore’s annual Fintech event, which last took place near the end of 2022. At that time, Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance and Chairman of MAS, announced that they intended to continue to fund Fintech innovation.
