Singapore Launches Global Finance & Technology Network

Singapore authorities announced the launch of the Global Finance Technology Network (GFTN) as part of a new phase in the development of the local FinTech industry. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the launch of the Global Finance Technology Network, which aims to strengthen the country’s role as a global FinTech hub and foster better international connectivity for financial services innovation. Structurally, the GFTN will replace Elevandi, a non-profit organization established by the MAS to connect people and companies in the FinTech sector in Singapore and around the world. 

The press release notes that the GFTN launch marks a new phase in the development of the FinTech industry in Singapore. The previous phase focused on piloting and promoting a number of key initiatives to harness technology and innovation in the sector. These included: 

• developing a regulatory sandbox; 
• establishing cross-border payment links; 
• piloting digital assets and tokenization.  

Another essential objective was to promote AI adoption as part of the MAS’s strategy to develop Singapore as an intelligent financial hub. A key event of the first phase was the growth of Singapore FinTech Festival , which became one of the largest industry events and provided a platform for the global FinTech community to interact. 

The Global Finance Technology Network aims to build on past successes through “industry and policy dialogues,” focusing on payments, asset tokenization, AI, and quantum technologies. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is actively developing various FinTech solutions. This year, the Digital Economy Semi-Fungible Token (DESFT) pilot project was successfully completed , which aims to develop trade between SMEs using central bank digital currency (CBDC) and stablecoins.