Singapore’s FinTech ecosystem continues to scale new heights with many companies seeking to grow and develop the innovation and financial services sector and this trend is only expected to continue upward.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a fall in overall Fintech funding in Asia, Singapore’s global market share has doubled, signalling continued confidence in Singapore as the leading Fintech ecosystem in Southeast Asia. The pandemic has also heightened demand for services such as virtual banking, digital payment services, insurtech and digital advisory services. Since 2016, Singapore has been organising the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) for the global FinTech community to foster networks and collaboration. At the SFF in 2022, many new products and services were launched, including eGuarantee@Gov which enables the quick provision of a banker’s guarantee or insurance bond to government agencies, and Cake DeFi Enterprise which provides a suite of decentralised finance services.
As technology advances and banking habits evolve, Singapore is rapidly embracing virtual banking. This has been accelerated by the pandemic, which channelled customers to using digital banking at a remarkable rate. According to the Singapore Fintech Report 2022, customer sign-ups for DBS Bank’s Digibank mobile app between June and August 2020 rose by 216% year-on-year, reaching a high of 3.5 million customers. Recognising the rising demand for digital financial services, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) awarded four new digital bank licenses in 2020, to allow for the launch of Singapore’s inaugural virtual-only banks.
With the growth of online shopping and advancements in real-time payment, there is a rise in demand for digital payment solutions, such as e-wallets and Buy-Now-PayLater (BNPL) arrangements. According to the FIS 2021 Global Payments Report, e-wallets are the second most popular payment method for online purchases, behind credit cards. By 2024, e-wallets are predicted to surpass credit cards and account for 27% of all online purchase transactions in Singapore.
Singapore’s financial advisory space has seen several new Fintech players offering digital advisory services (robo-advisors). These are advisory services on investment products based on automated, algorithm-based tools involving limited or no human interaction. Notable roboadvisors include StashAway, AutoWealth, MoneyOwl and Endowus. With the growing adoption of robo-advisors, Singapore is on its path to becoming a leading wealth tech hub, with at least three of its largest robo-advisors reporting strong assets under management (AUM) figures since 2020.
Singapore has one of the region’s largest concentrations of Insurtech start-ups (over 80 registered companies). It has two-thirds of its population insured, meaning that its Insurtech industry is primarily focused on improving and streamlining existing services and products. Bolttech, Igloo, and Anapi are some of the major players in the market. Most recently, Bolttech became the first Insurtech Unicorn company based in Singapore.
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