A new government grant and one that has been enhanced are on offer to accelerate technology adoption in the financial sector.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will commit $42 million for a regulatory technology (RegTech) grant while bolstering the Digital Acceleration Grant (DAG) scheme.
The RegTech grant aims to promote technology solutions in the risk management and compliance functions of Singapore-based financial institutions. This will help financial institutions enhance processes and capabilities in these domains, and "encourage a vibrant RegTech ecosystem in Singapore", said the MAS yesterday.
The scheme will cover two tracks. Under the pilot track, financial institutions can seek funding to try out potential RegTech solutions before embarking on full-scale integration of the product into their operating environment. Funding for this will be capped at $75,000.
Through the production level project track, financial institutions can seek funding to develop larger customised projects that can be fully integrated into their systems. Funding for such projects will be capped at $300,000.
Both tracks can be used to support either in-house development or commercial partnerships with RegTech firms based in Singapore.
The DAG scheme was launched in April last year to help smaller financial institutions and fintech firms adopt digital solutions to help them get ready for recovery and growth after coping with the impact of Covid-19, said the MAS.
Eligibility has now been extended to life and general insurance agencies with no more than 200 agents and employees.
The additional $30 million that will be made available from now to end-December will bring the total grants available under the DAG scheme to $65 million.
The MAS had received around 1,100 applications for the DAG scheme from both financial institutions and fintech firms as at March 31. Applicants have used the scheme to adopt cloud solutions and services, online communication and collaboration tools, data analytics solutions, compliance solutions and office productivity tools.
The two grants are part of the $250 million committed under the enhanced Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme in August last year.
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