MAS Commits S$150 Million to Boost Financial Innovation in Singapore | Fintech Singapore
Singapore’s financial landscape is set to experience a significant boost as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) commits up to S$150 million over three years for its renewed Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 3.0).
FSTI 3.0 was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, and Chairman of MAS, Lawrence Wong, at the Singapore Fintech Festival in 2022.
The enhanced scheme, which takes place from August 2023 to March 2026, aims to support the creation of a vibrant ecosystem for innovation while also building a stronger pipeline of Singaporean talents in fintech.
FSTI 3.0 introduces new tracks to drive innovation further; enhanced centre of excellence track; innovation acceleration track; and ESG fintech track.
Tracks in the FSTI 3.0
Firstly, the enhanced centre of excellence track has expanded its scope to include corporate venture capital (CVC) entities. Eligible projects can receive funding support of up to 50% of qualifying expenses, with a cap of S$2 million per project. These are manpower expenses as well as rental expenses. This will enable CVCs to offer mentorship and support to startups so that they may scale and develop robust and sustainable business models.
For the innovation acceleration track, MAS will conduct open calls for the use of innovative technologies, such as Web 3.0, in industry use cases where grant funding will be provided to support actual trial and commercialisation.
Lastly, MAS will also support the development and deployment of projects that address ESG data, reporting, and analytics needs of the financial sector, at funding support of up to 50% of qualifying expenses, capped at S$500,000 per project.
Furthermore, FSTI 3.0 will continue to support advanced capability development and adoption in key areas such as Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA) and Regulation Technology (regtech).
The focus will be on promoting AIDA adoption in smaller financial firms and catering to the needs of less digitally mature firms seeking to adopt regtech solutions.
To strengthen the local fintech talent pool, all applicants across tracks will be required to allocate resources for talent development.
Ravi Menon
Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS, said,
“Since 2015, the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) has awarded S$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.”