Singapore FinTech Festival 2018

In November 2018, the third edition of the Singapore FinTech Festival drew close to 45,000 participants from almost 130 countries. The Festival continues to be the biggest FinTech event in the world, and provides a global platform for the FinTech community to connect, collaborate, and co-create.

Organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore and in collaboration with SingEx Holdings, the Festival was supported by five Grand sponsors: AMTD, Deloitte, GIC, Google Cloud, and Prudential.

At the heart of the Festival was the three-day FinTech Conference and Exhibition that was graced by international and local dignitaries, with speakers including Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, and Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education of Singapore and Board Member of MAS.

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore and Chairman of MAS, Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Finance of Singapore and Board Member of MAS, Patrick Njoroge, Governor of Central Bank of Kenya, and Sonexay Sithphaxay, Governor of Bank of the Lao PDR, were among other leaders who visited the Festival.

Highlights of the Festival include the launch of the API Exchange (APIX), an online global FinTech marketplace and sandbox platform for financial institutions by PM Modi, and DPM Tharman. In addition, seven separate agreements were inked between MAS and international financial authorities on the sidelines of the Festival.

In this Deloitte report, we present a summary of the discussions that took place during the Festival along a variety of different themes, from the ASEAN FinTech opportunity, to financial inclusion and the future of banking. It is our hope that these thought-provoking ideas on innovation and inclusion will inspire you with new ideas for the FinTech age.