Centred across the theme of constructing resilient enterprise fashions which are viable, accountable and extra inclusive, this yr’s version of Singapore Fintech Pageant (SFF) kickstarted by introducing the Singapore authorities’s newest initiatives to arrange for a decentralised future with sustainable outcomes.
These have been introduced by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, in his opening deal with earlier immediately (Nov 2). He had additionally expressed that Singapore hopes to place itself as a middle for modern and accountable digital asset actions by means of its new initiatives.
The initiatives embody the trialling of the aim sure digital Singapore Greenback, the launch of the Singapore Customs Digital Banker’s Assure (eBG) Programme, and the third spherical of funding for MAS’s monetary sector expertise and innovation scheme.
Streamlining and bettering enterprise processes
The pandemic has been a major catalyst to digitalisation. Primary monetary companies, resembling financial institution transfers, have migrated to on-line channels — and all of those have been made doable as a consequence of all of Singapore’s earlier investments into its digital infrastructure.
On high of that, the pandemic accelerated the digitalisation of companies, and the federal government can be offering full assist for this effort as Singapore is consistently in search of methods to make use of digital expertise to streamline and additional enhance enterprise processes.
“An instance of this is able to be our SMEs Go Digital programme, which was launched to assist SMEs make use of digital tech to boost productiveness and generate new sources of income,” mentioned Minister Wong.
At the side of its efforts to streamline and enhance enterprise processes, the federal government has now launched The Singapore Customs Digital Banker’s Assure (eBG) Programme, eguarantee@gov.
The programme is a collaborative initiative by the Financial Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Finance (MOF) to digitalise bankers ensures and insurance coverage bonds which are offered to authorities businesses.
Beforehand, corporations that apply for ensures and bonds would require bodily paperwork that will solely be processed after a number of days. This could now be achieved over a day, absolutely on-line.
We hope that the collaboration will result in a major deduction in effort and time to course of ensures and finally profit the person and enterprise customers.
– Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Trialling function sure digital Singapore {Dollars}
In his opening deal with, Minister Wong additionally introduced the trial of function sure digital Singapore {Dollars}.
The new innovation permits folks to specify the utilization situations of the digital Singapore Greenback, resembling when and the place these digital monies can be utilized.
This capability opens up all kinds of use instances. For instance, dad and mom could be certain that the allowance of their youngsters could solely be used for meals and faculty provides.
– Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
To check this, the federal government will trial using function sure digital Singapore Greenback-backed vouchers to make purchases at collaborating retailers at SFF itself. This trial will present immense studying alternatives as Singapore advances its monetary infrastructure.
Bettering the entry to overseas markets
He additionally famous that tech has the potential to boost Singapore’s connectivity with different international locations, particularly its funds connectivity.
Cross-border funds are nonetheless inefficient and expensive, however this may be modified with tech. Presently, Singapore is exploring quite a lot of approaches to deal with cross-border fee issues.
One among it’s to determine linkages between the real-time fee methods of Singapore’s key regional companions. Final yr, Singapore introduced the linkage between the real-time fee methods of Singapore’s PayNow and Thailand’s PromptPay.
The linkage extends the identical advantages from PayNow to fund transfers between Singapore and Thailand.
This is not going to solely profit companies by lowering value and bettering entry to overseas markets, but in addition offers a quicker and cheaper different for people. For instance, foreigners working in Singapore who have to ship a reimbursement dwelling can stand to realize from this linkage.
With the immense advantages this brings, Singapore can be working to construct comparable connectivity with Malaysia and India.
“We will count on to see greater transaction volumes as soon as these linkages are established,” mentioned Minister Wong.
Empowering SMEs with an built-in commerce and finance ecosystem
If utilised nicely, tech generally is a highly effective software for micro, small and medium companies. Serving to these companies obtain their potential will deliver vital influence on financial and social growth.
To result in this influence, MAS will even be working with its companions to develop built-in commerce and finance ecosystems to assist monetary empowerment to such enterprises.
“This contains partnering with in nation public entities for Ghana with the United Nation Capital Improvement Fund for the world’s least developed international locations, in addition to with the Worldwide Finance Company globally on monetary literacy and constructing monetary belief,” defined Minister Wong.
As soon as these ecosystems are in place, enterprises in these international locations can entry an entire vary of capabilities resembling monetary schooling, monetary companies, and authorities assist through an open digital infrastructure.
As these enterprises make use of the infrastructure, they will even construct up their verified digital finance and enterprise profile over time. These profiles might be utilised by monetary establishments to higher perceive enterprises and imp their danger evaluation.
Governments can even depend upon these profiles when offering them with assist resembling native sources and programmes.
We hope that this could open up extra alternatives for Singapore’s monetary and enterprise sectors to take part within the growth journeys of those international locations.
– Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Supporting the creation of a vibrant monetary sector ecosystem
Singapore launched the monetary sector expertise and innovation scheme (FSTI) to assist the creation of a vibrant ecosystem for innovation within the monetary sector again in 2015.
To date, the FSTI has obtained two rounds of funding since its inception.
For the primary tranche of its funding, the federal government awarded over S$100 million of grant funding for near 500 initiatives. For its second spherical of funding, the federal government offered over S$200 million in dedicated funding for greater than 1,000 initiatives.
The scheme caused many optimistic outcomes, and these embody creating over 200 jobs by means of the establishing of new innovation labs, catalysing trade efforts to undertake cutting-edge tech, and supporting the expansion of younger startups into tech gamers with a powerful nexus to monetary companies.
To additional propel the expansion of the monetary sector, MAS will present the third tranche of funding immediately, with a recent dedication of S$150 million for the subsequent three years. Extra particulars shall be unveiled within the first quarter of subsequent yr.
View your insurance coverage insurance policies on SGFinDex
Apart from empowering small companies, tech may also be leveraged by people to craft a greater future.
Planning in your funds, for instance, is a step in the direction of having much less stress in life and constructing a extra resilient monetary future. However to do an in-depth evaluate of your monetary scenario, you want entry to knowledge.
– Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
To assist Singaporeans to take management of their funds, SGFinDex was launched again in 2020 to present people an outline of data from the banks and authorities businesses, resembling loans, deposits and CPF balances.
“With a number of clicks of a button, people can entry knowledge from totally different non-public and public businesses, all consolidated in a single web page, making it considerably simpler to get a way of [their] monetary scenario,” defined Mr Wong.
He introduced that SGFinDex has a new replace immediately — people will now have the ability to view their insurance coverage insurance policies. With the new replace, Singaporeans can now determine gaps of their insurance coverage insurance policies simply and have a extra complete view of their monetary place.
Transferring ahead, the federal government hopes to onboard extra monetary establishments on the platform, in addition to embody a wider vary of economic info for a extra complete overview and better comfort in monetary planning.
The phasing out of bodily cheques
With digital funds actively adopted in Singapore, MAS goals to part out all company cheque utilization by 2025.
Using cheques have declined in Singapore particularly after the pandemic, from 32 per cent in 2016 to seven per cent in 2022.
Nonetheless, amongst particular person cheque customers, MAS recognised that some individuals are nonetheless not comfy with e-payments, particularly senior residents.
To make sure inclusivity, MAS will present an extended runway for people to modify to e-payment strategies. This additionally offers extra time for MAS to contemplate those that are unable to undertake e-payments, and look into vital transitional assist.
Getting ready for a decentralised future
Minister Wong emphasised on MAS’s stance on the speculative buying and selling nature of crypto by retail buyers.
MAS believes that buying and selling crypto is very dangerous and never appropriate for most of the people. Most not too long ago, it got here up with new proposals aimed to cut back danger of potential hurt to customers within the crypto house.
However there ought to be little doubt that we’re embracing the expertise of distributed ledgers and the potential that they’ve to remodel monetary markets.
– Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Therefore, this led to the launch of Challenge Guardian earlier this yr, to discover the potential of asset tokenisation within the trade.
Presently, MAS has efficiently carried out the primary trade trials, that includes the cross forex transactions and the buying and selling of tokenised securities, which helped deepen the federal government’s understanding of the digital asset ecosystem.
Tackling local weather change one step at a time
Minister Wong additionally touched on the existential points that include local weather change, resembling world warming.
Singapore believes that tech can play a key function in overcoming local weather change. Presently, it’s investing in new tech to assist decarbonise its economic system, resembling low carbon hydrogen.
Nonetheless, the ESG fintech panorama continues to be nascent in Singapore. To determine key use instances and development methods on this house, MAS shall be partnering KPMG and Singapore Fintech Affiliation.
To set a optimistic instance in Singapore’s nascent ESG fintech panorama, the carbon emissions for SFF this yr shall be measured, and this shall be used as a information for decarbonisation efforts for subsequent festivals.
An inaugural ESG fintech zone has additionally been arrange inside SFF, as the federal government recognises the necessity to channel finance and fintech in the direction of addressing this world disaster.
Featured Picture Credit score: Singapore Fintech Pageant 2022