MAS and IFSCA to pursue cross-border FinTech innovations

by James · September 18, 2022

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA) on Monday signed a FinTech Cooperation Agreement (CA) to facilitate regulatory cooperation and partnership in FinTech.

In a statement, MAS and IFSCA said they will leverage existing regulatory sandboxes in their respective jurisdictions to support the experimentation of technology innovations.

This includes referring companies to each other’s regulatory sandboxes and enables innovative cross-border experiments in both jurisdictions.

The CA will also allow MAS and IFSCA to assess the suitability of use cases that could benefit from cross-jurisdictional collaboration, and invite relevant jurisdictions to participate in a Global Regulatory Sandbox.

MAS and IFSCA will also share non-regulatory information and developments on innovation in financial products and services, facilitate discussions on new FinTech issues and participate in joint innovation projects.

“This CA builds on the memorandum of understanding on supervisory cooperation signed between MAS and IFSCA in July 2022. The cross-border testing of use cases between Singapore and India will pave the way for the operationalization of a broader collaborative framework for FinTech use cases involving multiple jurisdictions,” says MAS Chief FinTech Officer Sopnendu Mohanty.

IFSCA Chief Technology Officer Joseph Joshy said this agreement is a watershed that ushers in a FinTech Bridge to serve as a launch pad for Indian FinTechs to Singapore and landing pad for Singapore FinTechs to India, leveraging the regulatory sandboxes.

“The opportunity for global collaboration on appropriate use cases through a Global Regulatory Sandbox is an exciting opportunity for the FinTech Ecosystem,” he added.

MAS is Singapore’s central bank and integrated financial regulator. As a central bank, it promotes sustained, non-inflationary economic growth through the implementation of monetary policy and close macroeconomic monitoring and analysis.

It manages Singapore’s exchange rate, official foreign exchange reserves and banking sector liquidity. As an integrated financial regulator, it promotes a healthy financial services sector through its supervision of all financial institutions in Singapore – banks, insurance companies, capital market intermediaries, financial advisers and financial market infrastructures.

It is also responsible for well-functioning financial markets, good conduct and investor education. It also works with the financial services industry to promote Singapore as a dynamic international financial centre.

It facilitates the development of infrastructure, the use of technology and the upgrading of competence in the financial industry.

IFSCA is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in International Financial Services Centers in India.

Located in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar (Gujarat), GIFT-IFSC is India’s first International Finance Center (IFSC).

Established by the Government of India under the IFSCA Act 2019, the IFSCA has laid down principles-based regulatory frameworks governing a myriad of activities such as banking, finance companies, capital markets, fund management, insurance, aircraft and ship leasing, etc., which have been globally benchmarked and designed to ensure ease of operation.