Singapore, December 6 - The Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) is an annual fintech event organized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, held in conjunction with the Singapore Week of Innovation & TeCHnology (SWITCH).
According to information on the official websites of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Singapore Fintech Festival, the largest annual fintech festival in the world is now back, and will take place between December 7 and 11, 2020.
The event brings together key decision-makers, investors and delegates from global financial institutions and technology firms to discuss the latest technologies, trends and advancements within the fintech industry - centered on businesses activities to boost sales cycles, discover partnerships and generate investments.
Due to travel restrictions and social distancing measures, this year’s event will feature a hybrid digital and physical experience. Singapore Fintech Festival 2020 allows a small number of people to attend sessions and activities in-person at key physical locations around the world, as well as enables participants to engage virtually with government leaders, business leaders, speakers, and representatives of leading fintech companies through an interactive “ONLINE CITY.”
The ONLINE CITY is a digital location where business leaders and representatives of fintech companies will be able to share and engage with online participants, as well as schedule 1-1 meetings with their potential partners.
Over the entire week of Singapore Fintech Festival 2020, leading speakers will live-stream their speeches and presentations online, across different time zones – hence participants worldwide will be able to watch the online presentation of keynote speakers from different regions sharing their perspectives on useful topics.
Confirmed speakers this year Singapore Fintech Festival 2020 include top leaders from Microsoft, Citi, Mastercard, Blackrock, Accenture, Standard Chartered, Bank of International Settlements, HSBC, Nasdaq, Paypal and Visa, as well as senior government officials from Singapore, Australia, Cambodia, and more.
This year’s Singapore Fintech Festival 2020 has also brought together a number of well known sponsors, including: AMTD, Mastercard, Microsoft, Prudential, Accenture, UOB Bank, OCB Life Group, OCBC Bank, PayPal, VISA, and many more.
For more information on the Singapore Fintech Festival 2020 event, kindly visit: https://www.fintechfestival.sg/
"We are excited and honored to be involved with this year's Singapore Fintech Festival 2020 as one of the Gold Sponsors. We will be looking to use this event as a springboard to introduce and showcase our new technology products to both existing and potential partners in the region and globally." said Kenn Smith, Advisor of OCB Life Group.
Sponsors and Exhibitors can showcase their technologies in key innovation domains such as FinTech; Blockchain, 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Smart Cities and Urban Solutions; Healthcare and Biomedical Sciences; Trade and Connectivity. Participants will have access to networking opportunities throughout the day covering all time zones.
One particular topic that will interest participants this year will be the Digital Economy. Experts at the event will discuss the emergence of central bank digital currencies, digital banks, inter-operability of traditional and digital currency payments, and in particular, the revolutionary impact of Blockchain, AI and 5G on financial services.
One of the biggest news is PayPal launching a new service enabling its customers to transact in cryptocurrency after being granted a first-of-its-kind conditional Bitlicense by the New York State Department of Financial Services. This new service of PayPal will make cryptocurrency a funding source across its network of 26 million merchants worldwide. Visa has also announced its partnership with USDC, a digital currency of Circle Internet Financial.
Another major news is the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announcing on 4th December 2020 that it will award four Digital Bank license to the Grab-Singtel consortium, Ant Group, Seagroup (Garena, Shopee, Foody, etc), as well as a consortium consortium comprising Greenland Financial Holdings, Linklogis Hong Kong and Beijing Co-operative Equity Investment Fund Management. The Digital Banks will be able to provide customers with services such as opening accounts, deposits as well as issuing debit and credit cards, but they will not have a physical presence and all banking services will be done online. This will liberalize the financial sector with cost-efficient banking services.
The migration toward a Digital Economy is accelerating due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as increased adoption of new technologies. The Singapore Fintech Festival 2020 is definitely a platform to empower innovation, connectivity, and sharing of the latest trends in fintech./.