Blockchain: Opportunities and challenges

LAST month's inaugural Singapore FinTech Festival - the first to be held in Asia and the world's largest - brought together some 11,000 participants from more than 50 countries. The financial-technology event, along with a S$225 million commitment and a slew of initiatives unveiled by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to support the development of fintech, represents Singapore's declaration that it will not be left behind in the digital revolution overtaking the industry.

Advances in technology and connectivity have changed the way consumers access financial products and services, driving innovation in the areas of payments, loans and security. The gains are obvious, with investment in fintech reaching a record S$27.2 billion in 2015.

This wave of democratisation in financial services has been led by the emergence of fintech startups, which has in turn prompted a curious convergence between the Davids and the Goliaths of finance. Recognising the success of these startups in moving quickly to meet consumer needs, traditional banks are now backing them or setting up their own outposts for innovation. Close to home is DBS Bank, which recently launched a 16,000-square-foot innovation facility and which is also tapping Pivotal's expertise in cloud and software development to enable it to behave like a startup in being innovative and agile. In the same way, more established fintech startups are expanding their range of services to scale and become more like the very financial institutions they set out to disrupt.