Singapore Fintech Festival drew participants from more than 110 countries. Photo Credit: SG Fintech Festival
The Singapore Fintech Festival, organised by the Monetary Authority
Singapore (MAS) and Elevandi, drew to a close last week, showcasing the
latest developments and innovation in the fintech space.
Judging by the amount of interest in the event, with more than 850
expert speakers and over 250 hours of content across the week-long
programme, and thousands of participants from more than 110 countries
and 2,000 organisations, alongside 450 exhibitors and 25 international
pavilions, fintech is big business.
On the scale of the event, Amanda Wick, founder of The Association
for Women in Cryptocurrency, who served as a moderator for one of the
panel sessions enthused: "Singapore FinTech Festival was unlike anything
I’ve ever seen. So many people, amazing panels, booths for days, and so
many networking opportunities."
"This year, Singapore Fintech Festival 2022 saw not just a great
number of knowledgeable and influential speakers from around the world,
but also a focus on green fintechs, ESG impact investing, and quality
data and disclosures," Marianne Tan, VP of Innovation Lab and
Partnerships, UOB, shared. "The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)'
ESG green impact zone also featured several of our greentechs from The
Greentech Accelerator Programme - Pantas, CO2 Connect (CO2X) Pte Ltd,
UPCYDE and Resync."
According to Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer of MAS and
chairman of Elevandi Board, "the industry is on the cusp of moving into
three areas – Web3, digital assets, and an ESG-[environmental, social,
and corporate governance]focused economy.”
According to an October report from Deloitte's Southeast Asian
Innovation team, fintech is booming in the region, with the
fastest-growing categories being digital payments and digital lending.
It's a view shared by UNSW Business School in Sydney, which published an
analysis in September saying that despite limited access to traditional
banking services, the adoption of smartphones and the growth of
e-commerce have led to an increase in the use of digital financial
services in Southeast Asia.
For developed countries, this could translate into developments in
automating accounting and payroll, digital document management and
authentication, and ensuring cybersecurity and compliance. For
developing nations, the main growth areas would likely be fintech firms
focused on consumer payment, credit and online retail banking.
Barney Tan, head of school and a professor in the School of
Information Systems and Technology Management at UNSW Business School
says: “Developmental areas where we see a lot of activity include
enterprise blockchain, decentralised finance, and robotic process
automation applications.”
Future fintech
There are already a host of fintech-themed events to take advantage of in 2023, taking place across Asia.
These include Blockchain Fest in Singapore from 16 to 17 February,
Fintech Festival Thailand, taking place from 23 to 25 February and 2023
Innovative Finance Expo in Kuala Lumpur from 19-23 April. Events in 2024
are already earmarked too, with Money 20/20 coming to Bangkok from 23
to 25 April.