Chia Der Jiun, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), addressed the Singapore Fintech Festival 2024, emphasizing the importance of community, collaboration, and capabilities in shaping the future of fintech.
Speaking at a fireside chat, Chia highlighted the vibrancy of Singapore’s fintech community and its global reach, supported by initiatives like the Global Fintech Network (GFTN), which aims to strengthen international collaboration.
Chia stressed the need for collaboration to address industry challenges, describing Project Nexus as a “game changer” for scaling cross-border payment systems through a central framework.
He also discussed Project Guardian, which explores asset tokenisation use cases across various assets, demonstrating clear economic benefits.
He outlined MAS’ long-term efforts to enhance capabilities, such as developing a national digital identity, fast payment rails, and achieving seamless interoperability between payment schemes to ensure low-cost, accessible, and efficient payments.
Chia emphasized the importance of interoperability in payment platforms, citing initiatives like NETS’ SGQR+ and Liquid Group’s roamQR, which aim to address fragmentation and allow merchants to serve a broader customer base.
On asset tokenisation, Chia detailed MAS’ three-layer approach, focusing on token standards, high-quality settlement assets like stablecoins, and interoperable infrastructure.
MAS has also introduced a stablecoin regulatory framework and partnered with global banks to overcome barriers to scaling.
Discussing generative AI, Chia described MAS’ cautious but collaborative approach.
Through Project MindForge, MAS has identified risks like data leakage and hallucination while working toward governance practices for responsible AI use.
Chia underlined Singapore’s leadership in sustainable finance, highlighting training initiatives to upskill professionals, transition planning for financial institutions, and tools like Gprnt to simplify data collection.
Regulatory measures like climate disclosures further support the region’s decarbonisation efforts.
