The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s central bank and financial authority has signed FinTech cooperation agreements with a pair of French regulators to boost FinTech ties between the two countries.
The cooperation agreement sees Singapore’s central bank partner the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR), the authority monitoring banks & insurance companies in France and the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), France’s stock market regulator.
Under the agreement, the three authorities will adhere to a framework that fosters the sharing of information relating to FinTech trends and services. Joint innovation projects and regulatory hurdles will also be discussed between the two countries.
AMF Chairman Gérard Rameix calls the agreement a “Fintech bridge between France and Singapore”, one that would help enable French industry firms to learn from their counterparts in Singapore.
More pertinently, the agreement will also enable ‘authorized’ FinTech companies from both countries to gain guidance from these authorities about regulatory requirements in each other’s jurisdictions. While there are no details shared about how companies are authorized by regulators in both countries, the framework is geared toward assisting in expansion opportunities for companies in each other’s markets.
Francois Villeroy de Galhau, chairman of the ACPR who is also the governor of the Banque de France, the country’s central bank, stated:
Cooperation between MAS and ACPR will create synergies for our two markets and promote innovative services, products and applications that have the potential to benefit consumers, corporates and the wider economy.
Singapore is traditionally known for its technology-friendly agenda and has unsurprisingly cemented itself as Asia’s and one of the world’s major FinTech hubs. The island nation’s geographical proximity makes it a gateway into Asia, making it a flourishing center for trade and travelers.
The country’s FinTech agenda is notably spearheaded by the MAS which has successfully completed a unique central bank-developed blockchain payments pilot for an inter-bank payments platform, earlier this month.
Singapore’s central bank is notable for its FinTech initiatives and, in particular, the development of a blockchain inter-bank platform.
Meanwhile, over the last six months, the MAS has signed similar FinTech pacts with the south Indian government of Andhra Pradesh, the central Bank of South Korea, the financial regulatory of Abu Dhabi and Japan’s Financial Regulator, the FSA. That trend continues, with the MAS setting itself apart from the rest as a specialist FinTech developer.
With its latest partners in France, MAS managing director Ravi Menon added:
We look forward to closer interactions between our respective FinTech ecosystems, more opportunities for our businesses, and greater convenience for consumers in both our countries.
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