Silicon Valley remains the global pacesetter for innovative startups, but there’s one sector where Singapore is beginning to take the lead: fintech. Utilising technology to deliver financial services faster, more efficiently, at reduced cost, to a broader customer base, fintech in Singapore has undergone rapid growth, boosted by significant government support over the past decade-plus.
“I consider Singapore the fintech hub of the world, not just the region. We were always an international financial centre — this is where the world comes to do business. But what Singapore’s regulators have done is also take leadership in fintech,” says Rahul Banerjee, CEO and co-founder of BondbloX, a seven-year-old fintech start-up that allows investors to track and trade bonds electronically, much like shares.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has actively encouraged the establishment of leading-edge fintech companies such as this here, spearheading initiatives like the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) scheme that provides backing to promising start-ups, and supporting events such as the Singapore Fintech Festival, which since its launch in 2016, has become one of
