MAS to offer $42 million in tech-adoption grants for financial sector

These grants are to accelerate technology adoption in the financial sector. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will commit $42 million for a new regulatory technology (RegTech) grant scheme, while enhancing the Digital Acceleration Grant (DAG) scheme, it said on Friday (April 30).

These grants are to accelerate technology adoption in the financial sector.

The RegTech grant scheme aims to promote the adoption and integration of technology solutions in the risk management and compliance functions of financial institutions. It is available to 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 MAS.

The grant scheme will cover two tracks. Under the pilot track, financial institutions can seek funding to pilot potential RegTech solutions before embarking on full-scale integration of the product into its operating environment. Funding for this track will be capped at $75,000.

Through the production-level project track, financial institutions can seek funding to develop larger-scale customised projects that can be fully integrated into the financial institutions' 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.

As for the DAG scheme, it was launched in April 2020 to help smaller financial institutions and fintech firms adopt digital solutions.

These would help them position themselves for subsequent recovery and growth, after coping with the impact of Covid-19, said MAS.

Eligibility for the DAG has now been extended to life insurance and general insurance agencies that employ not more than 200 agents and employees.

With the additional $30 million committed to the DAG scheme that will be made available from now to the end of December this year, the total grants available under the DAG scheme now stands at $65 million.

As at March 31, 2021, MAS received more than 1,100 applications for the DAG scheme from both financial institutions and fintech firms.

Applicants have tapped on the DAG scheme to adopt cloud solutions and services, online communication and collaboration tools, data-analytics solutions, compliance solutions, and office productivity tools.

These grants are part of the $250 million committed under the enhanced Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 2.0) in August 2020.

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