The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has looked 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', according to a MAS statement.
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Electronic payments have become an integral part of the financial services realm, with a strong emphasis on other channels such as e-commerce. The decision by MAS to promote a broader roadmap and collective clarification helps foster safer, healthier and more transparent payments utilized by businesses in Singapore and beyond.
In particular, the Singapore Payments Roadmap acts as a collaborative and joint effort between MAS and KPMG, one of the four largest auditors in the world. In terms of methodology and sample, a total of 2,500 stakeholders in Singapore’s payment ecosystem and across the world were subject to a survey to help understand the current state of payments – the questions focus on how consumers and businesses make payments.
New Agenda
KPMG had previously observed that Singapore boasted a highly functional jurisdiction for payments, though it also could stand to upgrade a number of attributes in a bid to promote even greater cohesion. This included the streamlining and fortification of the regulatory framework as well as the establishment of a new governance model for payments.
In looking at the report, it is recommended that the current regulatory regime governing payments and remittances be given a slight alteration, helping to create a single and modular regime applied on an activity basis, rather than specific payment systems. This would be instrumental as a new payments regime would provide MAS with the flexibility to address emerging risk areas like cyber security and consumer protection.
The report also recommended the bolstering of a governance model as well as fomenting a national payments council that pushes for increased innovation, competition and collaboration in the payments industry, including the Fintech industry.
A full copy of the report can be accessed by this link.
