The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced three enhancements to its FinTech Regulatory Sandbox framework to further catalyse financial innovation and FinTech adoption.
The FinTech Regulatory Sandbox was launched by MAS in 2016 to encourage and enable experimentation of technology innovation to deliver financial products and services.
The Regulatory Sandbox was enhanced with Sandbox Express in 2019 to provide firms with a faster option for market testing in pre-defined environments.
With Sandbox Plus, MAS will make three enhancements. The first enhancement is the expansion of eligibility criteria to include early adopters of technology innovation. Currently, a company is eligible for sandbox only if no similar implementations were observed in Singapore.
The second enhancement is a streamlined application whereby first movers of technology innovation can concurrently apply to enter the Regulatory Sandbox and receive a financial grant in a single application. Eligible applicants can obtain funding of up to $500,000 at a 50% funding level.
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The financial grant will help meet the cashflow needs of Sandbox Plus applicants, and allow them to focus resources on technology innovation and market development even while they are still in the Regulatory Sandbox.
The third enhancement is the enrollment of eligible applicants in the Deal Fridays programme – a platform for deal-making opportunities. The programme will help sandbox companies access the external investor community, to benefit from the network, mentorship, and funding.
“Sandbox Plus reflects MAS’ ongoing commitment to support promising technology innovation to take root in Singapore by providing innovators with more effective one-stop support. We hope this will further catalyse new business models with innovative technology in aspiring financial institutions, bringing greater benefits to consumers and the industry,” says Sopnendu Mohanty, chief FinTech officer, MAS, in a statement on Nov 9.
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Sandbox Plus will take effect on Jan 1, 2022.
Photo: Bloomberg
