MAS awards prizes for fintech innovation

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has awarded three financial technology (fintech) firms S$50,000 ($35,325) each for technology solutions they presented during Singapore's first fintech festival.

The "Global FinTech Hackcelerator" saw 19 finalists present technology solutions to problems submitted by the financial industry, with FitSense, Aida Technologies and Beacon Interface winning the contest.

"We are happy that the programme provided a platform for fintech companies and start-ups to collaborate with financial institutions, and an opportunity for them to showcase advanced technology solutions to a global audience," said Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer at MAS.

In May 2016, MAS published 100 "problem statements" from the financial industry – which included identity authentication, payments management and customer engagement – inviting the fintech community to develop solutions.

The central bank received 655 submissions from fintech firms, with more than 70% of them coming from the Asia-Pacific region. The 19 finalists were given a stipend of S$20,000 to help them bring their ideas to market.

The central bank's hackcelerator competition was held alongside a number of other events at the Singapore FinTech Festival, organised by MAS in partnership with the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), between November 14 and 18.

The festival – the first of its kind in the region – will host three conferences, with close to 11,000 participants from more than 50 countries, MAS said in a statement.

"The festival will foster the thriving fintech ecosystem in Singapore and beyond, as we strive towards establishing Singapore as a smart financial centre and a world-class fintech hub," MAS's Mohanty said.

On November 14, the festival held the first "innovation lab crawl" – bringing together more than 20 fintech labs across Singapore to demonstrate their solutions – which the MAS believes will offer participants "a glimpse into the future of finance".