Singaporean officials and FinTech companies gathered with UK FinTech companies in Downing Street on Wednesday to mark the launch of the UK’s first ever FinTech Bridge, which included the signing of a regulatory cooperation agreement between the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The new FinTech Bridge will assist UK FinTech firms and investors in accessing the Asian market and expanding to Singapore, as well as attracting Singaporean FinTech companies and investors to the UK.
In addition, the agreement will enable the regulators to refer FinTech firms to their counterparts across the world. It also details how the regulators will share and use information on financial services innovation in their respective markets.
Today’s announcement represents a major achievement for both UK and Singapore. For the UK, this is in tune with the government’s commitment to propel the UK’s role in FinTech capital. The UK FinTech sector generated £6.6 billion revenue in 2015 and has a workforce of more than 60,000 employees.
For Singapore, the announcement underlines the government’s commitment to establish a smart financial centre.
Christopher Woolard, Director of Strategy and Competition at the FCA, said:
We are delighted to sign this co-operation agreement with the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Financial Technology and Innovation Group. This will help innovative firms from Singapore that want to bring new ideas to the UK, helping the FCA fulfil our objective of promoting competition in the interests of consumers. At the same time, this agreement will give those British firms with new ideas who want to expand into Singapore support, making them potentially more sustainable challengers in the UK.
Jacqueline Loh, Deputy Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said:
The FinTech bridge that is forged with the UK today is a significant step forward in our FinTech journey. It will support FinTech innovators who wish to use Singapore as a base for collaboration and as a gateway to other markets in Asia. Singapore’s vibrant FinTech ecosystem is well-positioned to serve the Asian market, the fastest growing region in the world. The agreement between the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Financial Conduct Authority will also create opportunities for Singapore-based companies to grow and scale into the UK market.
To view the agreement between the FCA and MAS, click here.
To view the UK Government announcement on the co-operation, click here.