BIS innovation hub in Singapore calls for global hackathon to solve compliance pain

THE Bank of International Settlements (BIS), through its Singapore innovation hub arm, on Wednesday called for private firms to participate in a global "remote hackathon" to solve urgent problems related to regulatory compliance and ensuing supervisory processes.

The initiative, known as the G20 TechSprint initiative, will be hosted on an innovation platform tied to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This platform is the API Exchange (APIX), a global marketplace for financial institutions, regulators, supervisors, central banks and fintechs to connect with one another.

The problem statements that will frame proposed solutions will pinpoint challenges in regulatory reporting, analytics, and monitoring and supervision, and have been developed from submissions received from Financial Stability Board member jurisdictions.

The Saudi G20 Presidency will fund cash prizes for most promising solutions, with cash prizes of US$50,000 per problem solved to be awarded.

Selected participants will be invited to present their proposals in a virtual TechSprint Touchpoint workshop attended by national authorities and other stakeholders in July.

Following an evaluation done by an independent expert panel, winners will be announced in October and they will be able to present their submissions in November at the Singapore Fintech Festival, which is organised by the MAS.

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In a media statement, Ravi Menon, managing director of MAS, said the "unique G20 TechSprint initiative...showcases how collaboration between the public and private sectors can be achieved even on a global scale using purely digital means".

"It also shows how, at a time when much economic activity globally has been curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the work of innovation goes on, powered by technology. The G20 TechSprint has made virtue out of adversity and is a small indication of the post-Covid world to come."

Commenting on the launch from the Saudi G20 presidency, the Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, Ahmed Alkholifey, said: "Alongside the BIS Innovation Hub, we look to the global fintech community to help mobilise effective solutions to pressing financial regulatory and supervisory challenges, including by supporting regulatory and supervisory responses against the Covid-19 pandemic."

Interested private firms can compete and develop innovative solutions to these problems using the cloud-based APIX platform that will collate registrations of interest, as well as allow for prototype building and the online judging of submissions.

The platform will also enable solution providers to use a custom-built environment to integrate application programming interfaces (APIs) to build and deploy prototypes for solving the challenge statements. APIs are set of definitions and protocols that allow application software to talk to one another to build integrated services. 

The APIX platform is formed under the Asean Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), a non-profit entity formed by the MAS, International Finance Corporation, and the Asean Bankers Association. Its aim is to support financial innovation and inclusion around the world.