SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - The Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) and Razer Fintech have agreed to provide fintech companies in Singapore bridge financing, equity or equity-linked instruments ranging from US$100,000 to US$1.5 million (S$143,000 to S$2.1 million), they said in a joint release on Thursday (April 23).

The final sum depends on the fintech company's stage of growth and business requirements.

Financial assistance is one of several measures the partners are rolling out to address key issues faced by local fintech players due to the Covid-19 crisis, including business continuity concerns, high business costs, and funding and employment.

Other measures include cash flow and marketing support programmes, and support for evaluation and due diligence processes such as certification, screening and reference checks.

SFA and Razer said they also hope to "curate best-in-class fintech companies in Singapore through partnerships or investment".

Under a US$50 million Covid-19 support fund announced by Razer two weeks ago, the company will invest between US$100,000 and US$1 million per company in selected businesses or partners.

It will focus its investments in firms with technologies dedicated to fighting Covid-19 or supporting people through the pandemic, such as companies in the autonomous food and beverage, delivery and logistics, and healthcare sectors, it said.

Under its fund, Razer Fintech's business-to-business payment service, Razer Merchant Services, is also waiving one year of annual fees for both online and offline merchants in South-east Asia, offering special rates for offline payments, reducing sign-up fees to zero, and giving them US$10,000 in marketing funds each.

Meanwhile, Razer Fintech's business-to-consumer payment service, Razer Pay, is offering South-east Asian merchants US$10,000 in marketing funds each and reducing its merchant discount rate to zero for up to six months.