The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) have entered into a cooperation agreement to help engender greater cooperation and development in the fintech space, according to a MAS statement.
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MAS’ reinforced commitment to fintech innovation was echoed at the second Financial Dialogue between the MAS and the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF). The impetus behind this annual meeting is aimed at emboldening bilateral fintech cooperation as well as the mutual Exchange of views on domestic and international financial market developments and policies.
The agreement follows on the heels of MAS’ recently launched fintech innovation lab, Looking Glass, its new building located within its central location, which is designed to explore a number of fintech solutions and interactions with leading startups and vendors.
Singapore has been a magnet for investment in the fintech space – in August, MAS announced its plans to overhaul and propagate a series of changes to its electronic payments regime in Singapore, leading to the publication of a new strategy called the ‘Singapore Payments Roadmap’.
Cross-Border Collaboration
In particular, the Dialogue featured key players from SIF, including Ambassador René Weber, its Head of the Markets Division, with additional representatives from FINMA and the Swiss National Bank – Jacqueline Loh, Deputy Managing Director of MAS, headed the Singapore delegation. The talks covered a range of topics, including the global economic and financial markets, international financial regulatory regimes, and financial industry developments.
Such talks are instrumental in fostering a fintech regulatory framework in both Singapore and Switzerland, two areas that have seen significant developments in this space in recent years. As such, the ongoing commitment and cooperation between both MAS and FINMA ultimately provides a regulatory framework for innovative fintech companies in Singapore and Switzerland.
In addition, the new agreement between MAS and FINMA will continue to look to support additional opportunities for fintech businesses from Singapore and Switzerland with the hopes of expanding into each other’s markets in a symbiotic fashion.
