Above photo: Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor, Mr. Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. and the
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Managing Director, Mr Ravi Menon at the
signing of the BSP-MAS FinTech Co-operation Agreement/ Credit: MAS
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Monetary
Authority of Singapore (MAS) today signed a FinTech Co-operation Agreement (CA)
to promote innovation in financial services in their respective markets. The
BSP-MAS CA was signed at the sidelines of the 2nd Singapore FinTech Festival.
In line with other FinTech Co-operation Agreements , the CA
provides a framework for co-operation and collaboration between the two
authorities relating to FinTech. The authorities will be able to refer
promising FinTech firms to each other, share emerging FinTech trends and
developments, and facilitate work on FinTech projects together.
These projects could involve tapping on new financial
technologies, like distributed ledgers, to provide innovative solutions to
industry problems, such as facilitating faster cross-border payments and
streamlining “know-your-client”
(KYC) processes.
Mr. Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr., Governor, BSP, said, “The
agreement serves as a seal of commitment between BSP and MAS to elevate
financial innovation in both jurisdictions. The CA provides avenues for greater
collaboration through a more defined structure and referral system for FinTech players
between the innovation functions of each authority. The BSP looks forward to
exciting times ahead as the CA unlocks diverse opportunities for new
collaborations to prosper that maximize benefits of innovative technologies.
This would ultimately pave the way for a more progressive, modern and inclusive
financial system.”
Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS, said, “MAS and the
BSP are like-minded in their focus on harnessing financial technology to reduce
inefficiency and benefit individuals and businesses. This Cooperation Agreement
between our two agencies provides a framework for promoting financial
innovation not only in our countries but can also potentially contribute to
broader efforts in ASEAN.”
In his speech
at the Singapore FinTech Festival on November 14, Mr. Ravi Menon, MD of MAS,
had highlighted building a network of international links as one of the key
strategies for Singapore’s FinTech journey.
This is the 16th FinTech co-operation agreement
signed by MAS. Previously agreements have been signed with Abu Dhabi, Australia, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand and the United Kingdom, the Association of Supervisors of Banks of the Americas .
Some of the co-operation agreements also include joint
innovation projects. For instance, MAS and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority
will jointly
develop the Global Trade Connectivity Network, a cross-border platform for
trade finance using distributed ledger technology. MAS and the Bank of
Thailand have agreed to work together to link
PayNow and PromptPay, their respective real-time, 24/7 payment systems for
making payments from one bank account to another.