By Ezra Reguerra
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, has announced that it is committing up to 150 million Singapore dollars (around US$112 million), to support various financial technology solutions like Web3.
In an announcement, MAS highlighted that the funds will be spent in three years under its renewed Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) scheme. According to the announcement, the new scheme will aim to “accelerate and strengthen innovation” by supporting projects that use cutting-edge technologies.
The new innovation scheme includes several tracks like the Enhanced Centre of Excellence track, the Environmental, Social and Governance fintech track and the Innovation Acceleration track, which covers Web3
Within the announcement, the MAS recognized the importance of partnering with industry players to support “innovative fintech solutions” that come from emerging technologies like Web3. MAS wrote:
“MAS will conduct open calls for the use of innovative technologies in industry use cases. Grant funding will be provided to support actual trial and commercialization.”
Apart from these, MAS noted that the new scheme would continue supporting adoption in areas like artificial intelligence, data analytics and regulation technology (RegTech). The central bank will also focus on promoting adoption and supporting firms that are less mature digitally that are looking to acquire RegTech solutions.
Moreover, applicants across various tracks must allocate resources to talent development. This will help strengthen the fintech talent pool within Singapore.
The managing director of MAS, Ravi Menon said in the announcement that the financial sector development fund has awarded $340 million as part of the FSTI programme since 2015. According to the executive, this aims to drive innovation and the adoption of new technology in the financial sector.
