Singapore, 5 November 2020… The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced today that 40 solutions to address key challenges have been shortlisted for the MAS FinTech Awards to be presented at this year’s Singapore FinTech Festival x Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SFF x SWITCH). The theme for this year’s Awards is “Building Resilience, Seizing Opportunities, Emerging Stronger”.

2      Organised in collaboration with PwC Singapore, the Awards seek to recognise ground-breaking solutions that enable the financial sector to respond better to two key global challenges: (i) the new operating environment precipitated by COVID-19, and (ii) sustainability and climate change.  MAS received 326 submissions this year – a 33% increase from 2019 – from applicants across 55 countries. This marks the highest number of submissions received since the FinTech Awards began in 2016.

3      Many of the submissions focused on enabling the financial industry to operate digitally and remotely by removing the need for face-to-face interaction, while maintaining the security, integrity and customer experience of the services provided. On sustainability and climate change, submissions were geared towards sustainable investing, improving supply chain resilience, enhancing credit access for lower-income individuals and SMEs, and accelerating green finance flows to support low-carbon economic activities. The finalists were selected by a panel of industry judges.

4      The winners of the FinTech Awards will be announced on 10 December 2020 at SFF x SWITCH. The 40 finalists of the FinTech Awards will also participate in a specially curated Deal FridaysDeal Fridays are curated deal-making sessions for facilitating investment into startups. They are held once a month on Fridays from March to December 2020.  networking session to showcase their innovations to investors. Investors who are keen to participate in the Deal Fridays session can register at https://www.fintechfestival.sg/deal-fridays . 

5     Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS, said, “2020 has witnessed unprecedented challenges for the global economy and society. It is heartening that despite the upheavals, the international FinTech community has remained resilient and committed to serving their customers while tackling key issues of sustainability and digital transformation. The innovative solutions from the finalists demonstrate how resiliency and sustainability are now integral parts of the design of financial services for the future. We invite the international community to join us in recognising these remarkable innovations at SFF x SWITCH 2020.”

6      Ms Wong Wanyi, FinTech Leader, PwC Singapore’s Venture Hub, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has created deep unprecedented changes across the world. Despite challenging times, it is very encouraging for us to have received the highest number of innovative solutions since the first FinTech Awards. We see a focus on acceleration of technology advances and digital transformation within the financial services sector, some of them expedited by the new way of life. These innovative solutions demonstrate agility and creativity to overcome the challenges posed by the global pandemic. Some also look to strengthen business resilience and sustainability in the future with the use of technology.”

7      Please refer to the Annex for details of the FinTech Awards 2020 finalists and industry panel of experts, the Deal Fridays networking session, and presentation ceremonies at SFF x SWITCH.

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