UK and Singapore deepen collaboration to boost fintech innovation

The UK-Singapore FinTech Bridge establishes an avenue for structured engagement to encourage continued growth, investment and technological innovation, specifically within payments, regtech, and wealth management

The UK and Singapore have deepened their bilateral financial services partnership with a new agreement focused on fintech regulatory alignment. 

The UK Treasury and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the memorandum of understanding on the FinTech Bridge in a joint statement following the seventh meeting of the UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue at the end of November. 

Called the UK-Singapore FinTech Bridge, the agreement establishes an avenue for structured engagement to encourage continued growth, investment and technological innovation, specifically within payments, regtech, and wealth management. 

Regulators from both jurisdictions will work together to develop policy actions and assess emerging issues, such as distributed ledger technology and data sharing. They will also work to support trade and investment flows between the UK and Singapore. 

The new agreement follows their commitment to deepening the UK-Singapore Financial Partnership that was agreed in 2021. 

Andrew Griffith MP, economic secretary to the Treasury, commented: “The UK and Singapore are among the world’s leading jurisdictions for fintech investment—and today’s announcement will only accelerate growth and innovation in our respective sectors.” 

Janine Hirt, chief executive officer of fintech industry body Innovate Finance, welcomed the announcement: “It will deliver a strengthened framework for vital regulatory and policy discussions between the two countries, enable innovation across financial services, and ensure businesses based in both the UK and Singapore have the ongoing support for their ambitions for growth to be realised.” 

At the UK-Singapore Financial Dialogue, the Treasury and MAS also discussed and agreed to cooperate on regulatory developments for crypto assets, in light of currently understood opportunities and challenges. 

E-wallets and digital banking, along with sustainable finance, were also on the agenda and will benefit from an agreed roadmap of work in the lead up to the next bilateral meeting scheduled to take place in London in 2023. 

Image: Canva

Josh Poyser Josh Poyser is an editor at FinTech Intel. He has written about fintech for several years and appeared at FinTech Connect 2023 on the 'Unlocking Success: The Art of Fintech PR' panel.