Singapore studying if fintechs should operate digital-only banks

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s central bank said it is studying whether to allow financial technology firms (fintechs) to operate digital-only banks in the city-state, as regulators in other Asian markets begin issuing virtual banking licences. Some of these non-bank firms have established digital-only banks, either amongst themselves or in partnership with incumbent banks,” the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in response to a query from Reuters on Tuesday. “Technology and other non-bank firms have been making large digital strides, and they have brought substantive value to their customers in doing so. Singapore is among several financial centres in the region, such as Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo, pushing to become a fintech hotspot. “With the rapid evolution of fintech over the past several years – where fintechs began as start-ups looking to disrupt financial institutions, to fintechs as eco-systems orchestrated by large technology companies – it is unavoidable that you will see digital-only banks without bank parentage wanting to operate here,” Tsien said in a statement.