Singapore's Intellectual Property Office is to speed up the time taken to patent new fintech inventions in an effort to help startups bring their applications to the market more rapidly.
Under the new FinTech Fast Track programme, patents can be expected to be granted in as quickly as six months, compared to at least two years for normal applications.
Singapore alongside London, is the top-ranked fintech hub in the world according to a Deloitte study of 44 hubs across the globe. IPOS says the initiative will complement the central bank's S$225 million Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) funding scheme which is designed to boost fintech development in Singapore.
Daren Tang, chief executive of IPOS, comments: "By significantly reducing the time needed for grant of a fintech patent, our innovative enterprises will be able to compete effectively through their intellectual property and use these intellectual assets to scale up and enter the world’s market.”