The annual Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF), the world’s largest fintech gathering, is coming back in November for a week-long event that’s set to bring to together tens of thousands of participants representing top global financial institutions, fintech unicorns, policy makers, investors, and academia to explore the latest trends in the digital finance world.

Organized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in partnership with the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and in collaboration with SingEx Holdings, this year’s SFF will take place from November 11 to 15, 2019, and will merge with the Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH) to form SFF x SWITCH.

The inaugural SFF x SWITCH event aims to synergize across the themes of fintech and deep tech, and intends to serve as a cross-industry platform for greater exchange, learning and partnership opportunities.

The event will feature innovative technologies across five key sectors: fintech, urban solutions and sustainability, health and biomedical sciences, advanced manufacturing and engineering, and digital services.

What to expect

From November 11 to 13, 2019, SFF x SWITCH will be running the three-day Conference & Exhibition which will comprise one Festival stage and eight thematic stages. Key themes will include traditional finance; industry 4.0 – artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud and cybersecurity; climate change and innovation and technology; as well as technology beyond finance.

A technology-industry matching event called TechInnovation and organized by Intellectual Property Intermediary (IPI) will bring together international tech providers and enterprises to explore tech commercialization and initiate business collaborations.

Like the previous years, SFF 2019 will include the Global Fintech Hackcelerator, a competition powered by KPMG Digital Village during which mid- to mature startups from around the world will focus on solving problem statements solicited from the financial services industry. This year’s program focuses on four areas: financial inclusion, banking and finance, insurance, and general solutions that allow financial institutions to enhance customer experience or increase efficiency.

Another startup competition returning this year is SLINGSHOT 2019, powered by Startup SG, an international startup pitching competition. This year’s event will focus on deal making and will provide startups with the opportunity to connect and get matched with leading global investors and partners.

Finally, the Fintech Awards will recognize innovative fintech solutions implemented or deployed by fintechs, financial institutions, and tech companies. The winners will be selected by a jury representing a cross-section of experts based on parameters including their solutions’ impact, practicality, operability, as well as their uniqueness and creativity.

MAS and ABS have already announced the 40 finalists shortlisted for the Fintech Awards which include solutions developed by Bambu, Bento, CredoLab, Grab, MyCash, OakNorth and Union Bank of the Philippines.

Workshops and events designed for the tech industry, as well as the annual Innovation Lab Crawl, will take place at various location across the island on November 14 and 15, 2019.

Who to expect

Once again this year, SFF will feature an impressive line-up of distinguished speakers from all over the world representing the likes of Grab Financial, Souqalmal, Ant Financial, ZhongAn, Ping An, Lufax, Calibra/Libra, TransferWise, and Funding Societies. Participants will also hear from academics, journalists, and regulators from Africa, the Middle East, the US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific (APAC) on key topics including fintech regulation, AI, insurtech and open banking.

Some of the world’s leading tech providers and fintech companies will be exhibiting during SFF 2019 including Refinitiv, a top provider of financial markets data and infrastructure, Additiv, a Switzerland-native wealthtech company, Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchange businesses, Jumio, a company specialized in AI-powered identity verification and authentication, as well as Swisscom, Google Pay, and more.

International pavilions representing nations including Switzerland, Germany, Canada, the US, the UK, India, South Korea and Japan, will bring some of these countries’ top financial services providers under their respective flags.

Last year, SFF brought together more than 40,000 participants from over 127 countries comprising fintech players, tech entrepreneurs, policy makers, financial industry leaders, investors, and academics.

Image: Singapore Fintech Festival 2019, @sgfintechfest, Twitter.