MAS shoots to approve startups' entry into express sandbox in 21 days

Singapore

TWENTY-ONE days - that's how quickly the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) aims to process and approve applications by startups to join its proposed Sandbox Express, MAS board member Ong Ye Kung announced on Wednesday.

The process for fintech startups seeking entry into this ringfenced playground, where they can test new ideas in, for example, minimum paid-up capital, track record or fund solvency in a relaxed-rules environment can, at the moment, take months.

MAS has said that, during those months, most applications are withdrawn due to the fluid and "natural volatility" of the startup business; other startups find no need for their ideas to be tested in the sandbox following informal t…