EVENT COVERAGE: SINGAPORE FINTECH FESTIVAL
Ravi Menon
Menon expressed hopes that tokenised assets will help the simultaneous exchange of funds
takes at least two days for funds to be transferred from bank to bank. On this end, Menon expressed hopes that tokenised assets will help the simultaneous exchange of funds—both remittance-wise and settlement-wise—using a distributed ledger. On to the Nexus Menon touted Singapore’s Project Nexus at the event. Proposed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub Singapore Centre, Project Nexus is a proposed blueprint for a system that would enhance the network connectivity of global retail payments. “With this solution, each country would only need to link its real-time payment system once to a Nexus gateway, which in turn provides direct connectivity to all the other countries already within the network,” Menon shared. The planned unified solution coordinates payment, foreign exchange conversion, message translation as well as compliance. This is expected to streamline the entire cross-border payment process, he added. “MAS believes that Project Nexus can be a key enabler towards realising this vision. ASEAN is well placed to be a first-mover on this multilateral solution. As this network expands, we hope to see more countries coming on board as we build connectivity from ASEAN to the rest of the world,” Menon said.
The green data problem Another desired outcome is access to trusted sustainable data, with Menon expressing Singapore’s aim of creating a trusted data ecosystem, in part through collaboration with fintechs. “We need fintechs to do to sustainability space what it is doing to the inclusion space. We need green fintech,” Menon said, adding that collaboration is the essential feature that Singapore needs to achieve its five desired outcomes. Menon noted that financial institutions and corporates need good data on their customers’ and suppliers’ carbon footprints and compliance with their respective transition targets. These firms also need good data on the climate-
We need fintechs to do to sustainability space what it is doing to the inclusion space; we need green fintech
related risks their physical assets are vulnerable to. “Quality data is key in the fight against greenwashing and in enabling stakeholders to make well-informed ESG investment decisions,” he said. “Just as Earth provides a firm, steady ground upon which we stand, we want to create a trusted data ecosystem that provides a firm foundation for sustainable finance.” Menon concluded that the five desired outcomes–instant remittance, atomic settlement, programmable money, tokenised assets, and trusted sustainability data–remind the industry that everything they do in finance, technology, and in the fintech space must have a larger purpose. He highlighted that of all the fintech projects that MAS has embarked on to achieve these outcomes, collaboration is an essential feature. “Collaboration between the public and private sectors; collaboration between incumbent financial institutions and emerging fintech firms; and collaboration across borders. Like the five elements of water, fire, earth, metal, and wood, it is exchange and interactions that generate growth and new possibilities,” he said, concluding that collaboration is what the Singapore Fintech Festival is about.
Nexus is a proposed blueprint for a system that would enhance the network connectivity of global retail payments
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