Singapore has always been a modern hub for finance and technology with a lot of developments focused exclusively on these industries. Coin News has acquired a special statement from Gerben Visser, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of the Singapore Fintech Consortium, discussing the Fintech advancements and acceleration:
The Singapore FinTech Consortium
The Singapore FinTech Consortium’s mission is to build Singapore’s FinTech ecosystem by promoting market interaction between participants. We aim to be the platform to offer a sustained resource for all players for the FinTech community in Singapore and Southeast Asia through our online and offline service offering. We like to term our platform as a ‘demilitarized zone’, so that we can be an effective platform for our partners to engage with multiple stakeholders to find solutions to implement and promote best FinTech innovation practices in a collaborative, open and transparent manner.
Advancements in the FinTech Industry
They have indicated positive interest and support, and there is a general consensus on the need for a representative organization to build the FinTech ecosystem collectively. There is also gradual recognition of the need to “bridge the gap”, particularly between larger corporations, the start-ups in the grassroots, and other organizations along the value chain. In fact, it is very encouraging to see an increasing volume of reverse enquiries that is a clear validation of our value proposition.
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In Singapore, we have the privilege of having a glimpse into the future when we look at the more advanced economies in Europe and the US. Already, we are seeing the established banks in Singapore mirroring some of the strategies adopted overseas, such as establishing innovation centres, partnering with accelerators, establishing venture capital arms to acquire FinTech companies, and forming partnerships and deals with FinTech companies as well. The same can be said of the major technology companies and the usual suspects in the telecommunications industry. We anticipate further acceleration of such activities in the near future.
Overall, FinTech has become a topic of strategic importance in the C-suite, having grown from a niche discussion to become a more relevant and mainstream movement. With the mandate of the Consortium, we are engaging both the domestic and international regulators, government bodies, the financial services industry, investors, corporates, FinTech companies and other stakeholders, and have received tremendous validation and receptiveness in return.
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Acceleration of FinTech
For FinTech to accelerate, certain key ingredients must be in place, and I would argue that a certain degree of financial maturity and technological availability are critical. Looking at the various FinTech hubs across the globe, there is a pattern of greater intensity of FinTech activities in places where finance and technology meet. As we apply this lens on the APAC region, there are very obvious places where these conditions are met and FinTech is booming. These hubs then serve as a point of reference and influence on other developing economies, which serves to drive FinTech growth in Asia Pacific as well.
To be continued…
