MAS and Indian regulator to collaborate on fintech innovations

THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and India’s International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) have signed a co-operation agreement to facilitate regulatory collaboration and partnership in fintech.

The agreement will promote regulatory sandbox collaboration and the sharing of information, according to a joint statement by the MAS and IFSCA on Sunday (Sep 18). The agreement was signed in the Indian state of Gujarat, and witnessed by Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is currently on an official visit to India. Wong is also Finance Minister and the deputy chairman of MAS.

The IFSCA is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centre in India.

Under the regulatory sandbox collaboration, the 2 regulators will leverage existing regulatory sandboxes in their respective jurisdictions to support experimentation of technology innovations. This includes referral of companies to each other’s regulatory sandboxes and enables innovative cross-border experiments in both jurisdictions.

The agreement will also allow the 2 parties to evaluate the suitability of use cases which could benefit from collaboration across multiple jurisdictions, and invite relevant jurisdictions to participate in a global regulatory sandbox.

On the sharing of information, MAS and IFSCA will offer non-supervisory related information and developments on innovation in financial products and services, facilitate discussions on emerging fintech issues, and participate in joint innovation projects.

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DPM Wong, who spoke at a luncheon hosted by the Gujarat government on Sunday, said: “We hope (the agreement) will open up the space for fintech companies from both countries to experiment and pilot innovative products and services to serve both our markets. I hope this will spur innovation, create new jobs and investments, and further strengthen the development of the fintech industry in both Gujarat and Singapore.”

IFSCA’s chief technology officer Joseph Joshy said: “This agreement is a watershed moment that ushers in a fintech bridge to serve as a launch pad for Indian fintechs to Singapore and landing pad for Singapore fintechs to India, leveraging the regulatory sandboxes. The possibility of global collaboration on suitable use cases through a global regulatory sandbox is an exciting opportunity for the fintech ecosystem.”