MAS to invest S$220 million in fintech innovation, targets frontier tech and talent

[SINGAPORE] Singapore will invest S$220 million over three years to boost the fintech ecosystem, as part of the next tranche of the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) scheme.

The fourth tranche of the scheme will be implemented through six tracks covering institutional innovation, artificial intelligence adoption, infrastructure and platforms and talent development, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Monday (Aug 31).

“With AI and other frontier technologies emerging, we want to capture new growth opportunities,” said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is also minister for trade and industry, and chairman of MAS.

Each tranche has different priorities; the key goals of FSTI 4.0 are to:

• Anchor and scale innovation activities in Singapore;
• Accelerate and adopt fintech, with a focus on frontier technologies;
• Develop tech infrastructure; and
• Support talent development.

The manpower track will support at least 1,000 fintech internship opportunities over the next three years. MAS will co-fund internship stipends and open a new dedicated internship portal.

“It is always important for us to continue to invest in our people, to continue to build a pipeline of talent,” Gan said. “This is particularly critical in the fintech industry because this is a new and emerging industry (that is) also evolving very rapidly with the emergence of AI and frontier technologies.”

Under the institution project track, MAS will support Singapore-based financial institutions and fintech firms to develop and deploy innovative solutions, with a focus on frontier technologies such as AI, distributed technology and quantum technology.

The infrastructure and platform track supports industry-wide infrastructure and platforms that improve sector efficiency, productivity and innovation across the financial sector.

Meanwhile, the AI Pathfinder track supports the scaling and adoption of market-ready AI fintech solutions listed on PathFin.ai, a MAS-led initiative to support AI adoption in the financial sector.

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The central bank also enhanced the Fintech Awards track through the Global FinTech Hackcelerator (GFH) Scale-up Grant, which will help eligible finalists attract private investment and scale their businesses.

Supporting the finance sector

Compared with FSTI 3.0 – which ran from 2023 to 2026 – the latest iteration retains the centre of excellence track, while environmental, social and governance (ESG) fintech is no longer a standalone track.

The FSTI scheme was launched in 2015 to support Singapore’s financial sector innovation journey.

MAS has since supported more than 350 fintech projects, helped open more than 30 centres of excellence, while GFH finalists have raised more than S$3.8 billion in funding.

The scheme comes as Singapore’s fintech sector has grown to more than 1,800 firms employing close to 10,000 employees across tech, data, AI, compliance, cybersecurity and business roles. Fintech investments in Singapore hit S$2.9 billion in 2025.

“The financial industry is not a zero-sum game; I think as we get better, Hong Kong and other financial sectors will also get better,” Gan said.

“And as they get better, we want to make sure that we get even better.”