The Monetary Authority of Singapore and Australia's Securities and Investment Commission have signed a reciprocal agreement to help speed the licensing process for fintech startups looking to enter each territory.
Both regulatory bodies have been striving to create a positive environment for fintech innovators, creating specialist teams to guide young businesses through the regulatory maze and establishing sandbox environments to test new concepts.
The new co-operation agreement follows a similar pact inked between Asic and the UK's Financial Conduct Authority in March, and between MAS and the FCA in May, as national regulatory bodies bid to remove the barriers to home-spun firms entering new markets, while encouraging inward investment from foreign startups.
The MAS and Asic agreement also has a wider dimension, spelling out the potential for closer co-operation on future fintech projects.
Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer, MAS, says: “ MAS is also looking forward to partner Asic in joint innovation projects on the application of key technologies such as digital and mobile payments, blockchain and distributed ledgers, big data, and Application Programming Interfaces (API).”