UK Strikes Singapore fintech deal

The UK and Singapore have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in a push to bolster the two countries' fintech industries. 

Both the UK and Singapore are thriving fintech capitals but policymakers from both countries say they will now meet regularly with the fintech companies in a bid to sector to remove regulatory barriers to trade.

The UK and Singapore agreed on the deal at the 7th Financial Dialogue conference in Singapore last week.

For the past six years, the UK and Singapore have had a ‘Fintech Bridge’ partnership with similar goals around removing barriers to fintech trade in financial services. 

That deal, signed in 2016, helped the UK and Singaporean fintech sectors to more closely align at a regulatory level. This new partnership aims to go further.

“The UK and Singapore are among the world’s leading jurisdictions for fintech investment – and today’s announcement will only accelerate growth and innovation in our respective sectors,” said Andrew Griffith MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

“The MoU we’ve announced today is crucial – and I would like to thank the Monetary Authority of Singapore for their constructive engagement throughout discussions,” he added.

CEO of Innovate Finance,Janine Hirt says the deal will strengthen the framework for “vital regulatory and policy discussions” between the two countries, 

The MoU will come into effect this week once formalities have been completed on both sides.