Fintech is becoming a significant trend in Singapore as of late, and it is starting to attract overseas attention. A week-long Fintech Festival kicks off today, and the first “event” is the opening of a new innovation lab by ANZ and DBS. This seems to indicate foreign players are keeping a close eye on fintech developments in Singapore, which will in turn benefit consumers.
Singapore’s Fintech Festival Is Here
What better way to promote financial efforts than by organizing a week-long festival? That is what the Central Bank of Singapore and the Association of Banks in the country must have thought. Focusing a lot of attention on Fintech efforts is a validation of how the financial services and technology sector is evolving in recent months.
A total of 11,000 participants from 50 countries is expected to stop by during the Fintech Festival in Singapore. The opening ceremony comes in the form of an island-wide Innovation Lab Crawl, as more than a dozen co-working spaces will open their doors to visitors. A Hackcelerator Demo Day is on the agenda as well, as twenty teams aim to solve specific industry problems.
Such an interest from foreign visitors will also attract banks and financial institutions looking to establish fintech relations. ANZ and DBS, two prominent banks, will open their representative fintech labs during this event. The goal of these innovation centers is to explore future financial opportunities in the Asia Pacific region.
DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta told the media:
“DBS Asia X underscores DBS’ ongoing commitment to shaping the future of banking and embracing the future of work. It is a purpose-built facility for DBS employees from all over the region to come together, design, and develop iconic customer journeys, and work in close collaboration with start-ups and the broader fintech community.”
The fintech lab set up by ANZ will focus on similar efforts. Both banks are ready to recognize that Singapore holds a strategic position in the global fintech world, and that the island nation is a testbed for future financial technologies and solutions. Establishing innovation centers in the heart of fintech innovation will be a fruitful undertaking.
Do not be mistaken in thinking that these companies see Singapore as a mere stepping stone, though. The country has major potential to shake up the financial sector as we know it today. All of these efforts will eventually reflect on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as well, which can only be seen as a positive development.
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