The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today officially launched a new fintech innovation lab, called Looking Glass – the new building is located within MAS’ central location itself and will explore a number of fintech solutions and interactions with leading startups and vendors, per a MAS statement.
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Singapore has been a magnet for investment in the fintech space – just last week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (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’.
Looking Glass will look to achieve a variety of goals, including the support of fintech solutions for financial institutions, start-ups, and technology vendors. Additionally, the group will also aim to facilitate consultations for start-ups via industry experts on several pertinent areas of interest such as legal, Regulation , and business-related matters.
Continued Focus
The launch of the new lab is important not only for the fintech industry but for Singapore, given its continued development of infrastructure in this space that has enticed start-ups to work with MAS and domestic forces. One of the primary impetuses behind the lab will also be to help provide a venue for relevant training sessions and networking activities for broader fintech community.
Sopnendu Mohanty
According to Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, MAS, in a recent statement on the lab opening: “MAS has been encouraging financial institutions to anchor their innovation labs in Singapore. Today, we are pleased to open our own FinTech Innovation Lab, underscoring MAS’ commitment to promoting a culture of innovation in the financial sector. Looking Glass @ MAS will serve as a platform for the FinTech community to connect, collaborate, and co-create with one another.”
Earlier this week, international payments leader, PayPal also expanded its research operations to Singapore, culminating in the launch of a new innovation lab in the country and its first outside the United States.
