The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it is studying the licensing regime to admit fintech firms without banking parentage.
The statement of The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) comes just one day after DBS chief executive, Piyush Gupta, revealed that Singapore may offer virtual banking licenses, following in the footsteps of Hong Kong.
«MAS is studying whether to admit such digital-only banks with non-bank parentage. We have been engaging relevant stakeholders to ascertain the unique value that such entrants could bring to our banking landscape, and understand how potential risks will be managed and contained,» said a MAS spokesman, who was quoted in the «Business Times» (behind paywall).
Substantial Value Offered
Since 2000, Singapore-incorporated banks have been allowed to set up banking subsidiaries to pursue digital-only business models, MAS clarified. Even as Singapore’s banking market is being served by many local and foreign banks offering a full suite of services, technology companies and non-bank firms have been contributing to the landscape, notes MAS.
«Banks are not alone in harnessing digitalisation. Technology and other non-bank firms have been making large digital strides, and they have brought substantive value to their customers in doing so,» MAS added. Hong Kong has issued four virtual banking licenses, and is processing four more, according to local media reports.
