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7 Key Announcements from Singapore Fintech Festival 2019 (Day 3)

Wednesday marked the third day of the annual Singapore Fintech Festival, the world’s largest fintech gathering taking place this week at Singapore EXPO.

This year, Singapore Fintech Festival put a major focus on sustainability and green finance, an area where the city state has pledged to become a world leader in.

The following are seven big moves unveiled on Wednesday.

Singapore’s National AI Strategy

Singapore has unveiled five key national AI projects part of the city state’s new national AI strategy, reports the Straits Times. These projects cover border security, logistics, healthcare, education and estate management.

Among other projects, the government plans to deploy a fully automated immigration clearance system with facial and iris scanning by 2025. By 2022, an AI software system called Selena+ will become operational and will scan and analyze retinal photographs for signs of diabetic eye diseases.

In smart estates, AI-powered chatbots will be launched by 2022 for residents to report issues with municipal services, and in logistics, a common data platform will be developed by 2022 for the intelligent routing and scheduling of trucks.

As part of the National AI Strategy, Singapore has created a new National AI Office under the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office. The new office will be responsible for setting priorities and helping build a pipeline of AI talent. It will also facilitate the commercialization of AI research and act as a link between the private and public sectors.

Responsible AI

Part of the Singapore National AI Strategy still, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced that it is working with the financial industry to create a framework to ensure the responsible use of artificial intelligence and data analytics (AIDA).

The framework, called Veritas, will allow financial institutions to evaluate AIDA solutions based on the criteria of fairness, ethics, accountability and transparency (FEAT).

Veritas will comprise open source tools that can be applied to different business lines and in different markets. At the beginning, the framework will focus on use cases in customer marketing, risk scoring and fraud detection.

The Veritas consortium is currently made up of 17 members, comprising MAS, SGInnovate, EY and 14 financial institutions, including AXA, Swiss Re, Bank of China, BNP Paribas, BNY Mellon, DBS Bank, HSBC, Ping An, Standard Chartered Bank, and Unionbank of the Philippines.

Launch of BIS Innovation Centre in Singapore

Launch of BIS Innovation Hub Centre in Singapore

MAS and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) have launched the BIS Innovation Hub Centre in Singapore, a platform aimed at fostering innovation and greater collaboration amongst the central banking community globally.

The Singapore center will initially focus on two projects: the establishment of a framework for public digital infrastructures on identity, consent and data sharing; and the creation of a digital platform connecting regulators and supervisors with digital and technology solution providers.

The launch of the Singapore center follows the recent establishment of other BIS Innovation Hub Centres in Hong Kong and Switzerland.

Enterprise Singapore expands GIA network

Enterprise Singapore, a government agency supporting the development and internationalization of Singapore startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has announced the expansion of its Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) network to London.

Enterprise Singapore has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UK-based accelerator IoT Tribe, which will be running two GIA Acceleration Programmes.

Separately, Enterprise Singapore is working with three new GIA partners in Beijing, Jakarta and Tokyo to provide further assistance to Singapore startups and SMEs in these markets through GIA Acceleration Programmes.

Enterprise Singapore and IMDA launch Open Innovation Network

Open Innovation Network homepage, openinnovationnetwork.sg

Enterprise Singapore and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) have launched the Open Innovation Network (OIN), an online directory that aggregates nationwide open innovation challenges across sectors such as sustainable development, advanced manufacturing, and engineering, and more.

The OIN aims to match corporates, government agencies, as well as trade associations and chambers looking for tech and digital solutions, with solution providers including SMEs and innovative startups.

The purpose here is to foster innovation through collaboration.

GPS launches APAC hub in Singapore

Global Processing Services (GPS), a leading payments processor, has launched its Asia Pacific (APAC) hub in Singapore.

GPS said it has chosen Singapore as its new regional headquarters to best support its existing clients as well as regional banking providers through its Apex platform.

The GPS Apex platform powers numerous fintech unicorns including Revolut, Monzo and Starling Bank. The company said it is looking to replicate its success in Europe in APAC.

Saxo Markets partners with Quantifeed to develop new wealthtech platform

Saxo Markets and Quantifeed Announce Joint Solution to Enable Financial Advisers to Scale Quickly in a Challenging Environment

Saxo Markets partners with Quantifeed to develop new wealthtech platform

Saxo Markets, a multi-asset trading and investment platforms, and Quantifeed, a digital wealth management solutions provider, have partnered to launch a new wealthtech solution for financial advisors by 2020.

The new platform, which will be built on Saxo’s OpenAPI, will include three core functions: portfolio and account management, actionable investment-related notices, and “interactive investment journey.”