Singapore FinTech Association launches jobs portal

Singapore

TO HELP jobseekers and employers in the fintech space, the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) on Monday launched a jobs and grants portal, which currently lists over 500 vacancies across six categories - information technology, business development, data analytics, management and business, accounting and finance, and marketing and public relations.

The portal also highlights grants available and relevant training opportunities in the fintech sector. In addition, it features various schemes available under the SGUnited Traineeships and Skills programmes.

Second Minister for Finance and Education Indranee Rajah, who spoke at the portal's launch, said the sector must be prepared to take on long-term, structural change in this period of uncertainty.

While Covid-19 has severely impacted all sectors of the economy, it also presents a "once-in-a-generation chance to transform", said Ms Indranee.

"In particular, we are seeing real opportunities for fintech firms to collaborate more deeply and sustainably with financial institutions, to boost prospects for the financial industry over the next few years," she said.

Ms Indranee cited fintech solutions that have emerged amid this age of safe distancing and renewed focus on hygiene, such as OCBC Bank's virtual wealth advisory service as well as remittance app MyCash, which has helped remit more than S$1.5 million for over 5,000 migrant workers since its launch in June.

The minister also noted that fintech investments have increased nearly six-fold year-on-year since 2015, reaching a record high of S$1 billion in 2019.

In a media statement on Monday, the SFA cited a June 2020 report by Boston Consulting Group which noted that investments in Singapore-based fintech firms rose to S$650 million, representing a 19 per cent increase in the first half of the year - despite the pandemic.

Now home to over 1,000 companies specialising in a range of solutions, from banking to crowdfunding and cryptocurrency, Singapore also has 33 cooperation agreements with fintech counterparts across the world.

"Amid the uncertainties and disruption from Covid-19, the FinTech sector in Singapore has shown resilience and is poised to bounce back quickly post-pandemic as financial institutions accelerate their digital transformation journey and as more customers adopt digital solutions," the SFA said in a media statement on Monday.

The association has rolled out other forms of support for the sector, including a benchmark qualification for companies to be "fintech certified". This helps facilitate applications for grants from the authorities. The SFA, together with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and AMTD, also launched a S$6 million grant scheme in May to help fintech firms here maintain their operations, and enable them to continue to innovate and grow.

The crisis has also spurred industry players to come together to support each other. Razer, for instance, has a US$50 million Covid-19 support fund for fintech companies, while Prudential is offering complimentary insurance to employees of eligible fintechs.