Big Data fintech among winners of Global FinTech Hackcelerator

THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the three winners of the Global FinTech Hackcelerator on Thursday.

They are: Moxtra, a secure messaging and business collaboration service; Sqreem, a data analytics firm; and Trunomi, a fintech that enables businesses to request, receive and capture customer consent to the use of their personal data. Each team received a cash prize of S$50,000.

The three winners were selected from a pool of 20 finalists that presented their solutions at Demo Day today, as part of the second Singapore FinTech Festival.

MAS this year published 100 problem statements touching on customer-facing problems, financial inclusion, and regtech. It received 580 submissions from over 40 countries.

Speaking at at fintech awards ceremony this evening, OCBC chief executive officer Samuel Tsien urged fintech companies to consider their impact and responsibility to the financial industry.

"Your ideas and speed to deliver have prompted an urgent need for all of us to transform. You have challenged us to do things better, faster and cheaper. You have changed the traditional banking culture, and injected a strong sense of urgency for us to adapt and change," said Mr Tsien.

"I want to also challenge fintech companies to think about how, as we move forward, we can make sure that no one is left behind. The widespread use of technology can potentially widen societal gaps and leave the under-served and unprepared behind. Let us leverage tech as a social leveller."