Singapore Central Bank Encourages Fintech

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, announced a push for further support of innovations from the financial technology sector.

At an industry conference last week, the central bank promoted the use of APIs and announced its own program.

MAS has long supported the fintech industry and now wants to help link APIs and other fintech services between financial institutions and government agencies.

A report from MAS showed that APIs can help companies get products and services to market quickly and more effectively. Additionally, APIs can help companies reduce the burden of paperwork and regulations, while also helping the government stay up-to-date with new services and technologies.

Although there is no set time frame for the integration of APIs, the central bank said it would actively work with industry members until a set of standardized rules could be agreed upon.

MAS will also be setting up a new division called the FinTech Office, which is set to launch on 3 May.

The FinTech Office is an accelerator or sorts; the government will provide aid to fintech companies that what to do business in Singapore.

“In today’s fast changing world of technology, consumers expect our financial institutions to keep up with customer lifestyles and meet business demands.

Hence, it is timely for the push towards customer-focused initiatives which allow systems to be developed in a quicker and more efficient manner, especially in the area of application development,” said Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer at MAS.