S$35m grant to help smaller financial institutions adopt digital solutions

THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Monday announced the launch of a S$35 million Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) to help smaller financial institutions adopt digital solutions for "more streamlined data reporting" to the regulator.

Smaller financial institutions are defined as those with not more than 200 employees, according to MAS.

The grant is currently applicable to banks and will be subsequently expanded to include insurers and capital market intermediaries, the authority said.

The PSG will co-fund up to 30 per cent of qualifying expenses for the adoption of digital solutions from pre-approved managed service solution providers. This is capped at S$250,000 per project for banks, and eligible banks can now apply for funding via the Business Grants Portal, MAS noted.

Regulatory reporting solutions may include software-as-a-service and/or end-to-end solutions such as data sourcing, validation and ongoing technical support. These technologies will facilitate more efficient processes for the preparation and submission of data, in line with regulatory requirements, MAS said.

Separately, smaller financial institutions that wish to adopt digital solutions outside of regulatory reporting can consider the Digital Acceleration Grant, the regulator added.

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Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer at MAS, noted that the co-funding support for the adoption of regulatory reporting solutions will help smaller financial institutions leverage technology to better meet regulatory obligations.

He added: "There are now a range of grant schemes specific to smaller financial institutions. Together, these schemes provide strong support for these financial institutions to adopt solutions that improve their operational capabilities in various domains."