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10 innovative FinTech solutions recognised at the 2017 FinTech Awards

SINGAPORE, Nov. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) today awarded 10 FinTech companies a total of S$1.15 million at the FinTech Awards.

Reflecting the growth in the FinTech ecosystem, this year's winning solutions span multiple business areas, such as digital advisory, investment analytics, blockchain-based biometrics, and e-payments. Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman, MAS, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and ABS Vice-Chairman, Mr Samuel Tsien, Group CEO, OCBC Bank, presented the awards to the 10 FinTech companies in a ceremony that was attended by more than 3,000 attendees. The 10 awardees are:

Award        

Company Name

Prize

ABS Global FinTech Award1

Blocko

S$150,000 

MAS FinTech Awards (Singapore Open)2

1st place -- FlyWire

S$250,000

2nd place -- Silent Eight

S$100,000

3rd place -- Instarem

S$50,000

MAS FinTech Awards (Singapore SME)3

1st place -- AGDelta

S$150,000

2nd place -- Fomopay

S$100,000

3rd place -- HedgeSPA

S$50,000 

MAS FinTech Awards (Singapore Founder)4

1st place -- Spark Systems

S$150,000

2nd place -- Singx

S$100,000

3rd place -- Aida Technologies

S$50,000

1 FinTech project implemented in any part of the world by any company.

2 Singapore-based companies of any size. The company must have a physical office registered in Singapore, and the solution must have been implemented in Singapore.

3 Singapore-based SMEs (Small-Medium Enterprises). SMEs, as defined by SPRING, are enterprises with an annual sales turnover of not more than SGD$100 million OR an employment size of not more than 200 workers. Enterprises qualify as SMEs as long as they satisfy at least one of the two parameters.

Singapore-based SMEs with at least one Singaporean founder. The term 'founder' is defined as an individual who was instrumental in setting up the SME. There is no need for majority share-ownership. The SME must have a physical office registered in Singapore, and the solution must have been implemented in Singapore.

Please refer to Annex A for the top winners' solutions and their quotes.

Organised as part of the Singapore FinTech Festival, the FinTech Awards recognises innovative FinTech solutions that have been implemented by FinTech start-ups, financial institutions and technology companies. The FinTech Awards comprise the MAS FinTech Awards and ABS Global FinTech Award.

This year, the FinTech Awards received over 300 global submissions, with the bulk coming from the Asia Pacific. Thirty finalists were shortlisted from these submissions. The winners were selected by a panel of 11 judges, representing a cross-section of international and local experts from the private and public sector. The entries were evaluated based on criteria such as impact, practicality, interoperability, and uniqueness and creativity. (Please refer to Annex B for the list of judges.)

Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of MAS, said, "This year's FinTech Awards shows how quickly the FinTech industry has developed and evolved in the last year. The winners managed to apply FinTech solutions to a wide-range of sectors. We are excited to see more submissions coming from the Asia Pacific. It is an opportunity for Singapore to leverage and nurture a more vibrant FinTech ecosystem."

Mrs Ong-Ang Ai Boon, ABS Director, added, "We are glad to recognise the efforts of innovators who got out of the comfort zone, applied new ideas and created more effective and efficient solutions. The generation and incubation of new ideas and solutions for the Financial Industry play important roles in strengthening strategic competitiveness in this digital age. ABS hopes for such continual efforts, as Singapore strives towards innovation and excellence as an international financial hub."

About the Singapore FinTech Festival

Organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore and in collaboration with SingEx Holdings, the Singapore FinTech Festival will provide a platform for collaborations, connections and co-creations within the FinTech ecosystem in Singapore and beyond. In keeping with this spirit, the Festival is supported by the industry. Festival Grand sponsors include AMTD, Deloitte, and Prudential. A series of back-to-back events that will take place from 13 - 17 November 2017, the Festival will comprise the Global FinTech Hackcelerator, Innovation Lab Crawl, FinTech Awards, FinTech Conference, and Investor Summit. For more information, please visit www.fintechfestival.sg.

About the Monetary Authority of Singapore

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is Singapore's central bank and integrated financial regulator.  As central bank, MAS promotes sustained, non-inflationary economic growth through the conduct of monetary policy and close macroeconomic surveillance and analysis. It manages Singapore's exchange rate, official foreign reserves, and liquidity in the banking sector. As an integrated financial supervisor, MAS fosters a sound financial services sector through its prudential oversight of all financial institutions in Singapore -- banks, insurers, capital market intermediaries, financial advisors, and stock exchanges. It is also responsible for well-functioning financial markets, sound conduct, and investor education. MAS also works with the financial industry to promote Singapore as a dynamic international financial centre. It facilitates the development of infrastructure, adoption of technology, and upgrading of skills in the financial industry.

About The Association of Banks in Singapore

The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) plays an active role in promoting and representing the interests of the banking community in Singapore. In doing so, ABS works closely with the relevant government authorities towards the development of a sound financial system in Singapore. Since its establishment in 1973, ABS has promoted common understanding among its members and projected a unifying voice on banking issues. It has brought its members closer together through various guidelines and banking practices as well as the support of projects of mutual benefit to face the challenges of the financial and banking community in Singapore. Today, ABS has a membership of 154 local and foreign banks. Further information on ABS is available on the website: www.abs.org.sg.

Annex A -- Top winners of each category

ABS Global FinTech Award

Winner

Blocko

Name of solution

Lotte Card Blockchain-based Authentication

Short caption

Blockchain platform with enhanced functionality

Description

Blocko set up a blockchain-based biometric log-in
and payment authorization system for Lotte Card
which is one of the largest credit card companies in
Korea. A biometric authentication method was
implemented so that users' fingerprints could be
used as authentication in logging in and conducting
transactions through the Lotte nationwide mobile
application.

Quote

Blockchain technology is not just a hype or technical
buzzword, and we've successfully proven
its utility in the local market as the frontrunner in
enterprise blockchain solutions. We are now
planning on actively engaging with the global
community to guide enterprises through a practical
adoption of effective blockchain solutions.

Attributed to

Won-Beom Kim, CEO

 

MAS FinTech Awards (Singapore Open)

Winner

Flywire

Name of solution

Flywire International Payment Solution

Short caption

International payments made easy

Description

Flywire is a leading provider of international
payment solutions, connecting businesses and
institutions with their customers on six continents.
Introduced six years ago as a way for international
students to pay their tuition for studies abroad,
Flywire is now used by over 1,400 organizations
across 20 countries around the world.

Quote

It's a huge honor to be recognized in this way
among so many great companies in Singapore. We
hope this will connect us to more Singaporean
businesses, educational institution and health care
providers to help support their growth. We also
hope to build more awareness to attract local
talent to help us grow the Flywire business here in
Singapore and throughout the APAC region

Attributed to

Andrew Ong, MD, APAC

 

MAS FinTech Awards (Singapore SME)

Winner

AGDELTA

Name of solution

Digital Wealth Platform (DWP)

Short caption

Digital Advisory. Compliance. Best Execution

Description

AGDELTA's digital wealth platform consists of 3
pillars -- execution, compliance, and digital advisory.

Quote

It is truly both an amazing and a very humbling
experience to be recognized for this award.
AGDelta's journey in breaking new barriers in the
Digital Wealth space since the financial crisis has
been nothing short of phenomenal. We have
crossed 1.5 trillion USD in transactional turnover in
our investments platform in over 15 countries,
formed the largest regional B2B industry
investments platform with leading global banks,
resolved complex regulatory compliance challenges
and used Artificial intelligence/machine learning
technologies to fuel our new digital advisory
solutions for banks, licensed wealth advisors, and
their clients. I would like to thank the MAS, the
distinguished panel of judges, our valued
customers, investors, partners and the super team
we have at AGDelta for contributing to this major
industry recognition. Thank you.

Attributed to

Andrew Au, CEO

 

MAS FinTech Awards (Singapore Founder)

Winner

Spark Systems Pte Ltd

Name of solution

Spark FX

Short caption

Cutting Edge Technology on FX Marketplace

Description

Spark uses the latest technology to improve the
user experience in trading and execution. Through
a stable, fast, and resilient platform, Spark also
provides analytics to the user to capitalise their
liquidity and trading history.

Quote

I am deeply honoured and humbled to receive this
award. Especially in the face of the quality of the
competition present here. The companies here are
amongst the best in Asia and the world! It tempting
to think it's just because Spark is a good company
but in reality we are here thanks to the whole
ecosystem in Singapore! The regulator MAS, the
VCs, the willingness of investors to back projects
and the many mentors who freely share their
invaluable experience and insights. Our win here
will importantly open doors and bring new and
exciting opportunities to our door step.

Attributed to

Joo Seng Wong,
Founder and CEO

Annex B -- list of judges

Name

Title

Organisation

Ho Kok Yong

Partner, Leader, Financial
Services Industry, SEA

Deloitte & Touche LLP

Huy Nguyen Trieu

CEO

The Disruptive Group

Oliver Bussman

Founder & Managing
Partner

Bussman Advisory

Janet Young

MD & Head, Group
Channels & Digitalization

UOB

Pieter Franken

Senior Technology Advisor

Monex Securities

Sopnendu Mohanty

Chief FinTech Officer

MAS

Dusan Stojanovic

Founder & Director

True Global Ventures

Tobias Puehse

Vice President, Innovation
Management, Digital
Payments & Labs APAC

Mastercard

Anju Patwardhan

Managing Director

Creditease FinTech Investment
Fund

Sanjoy Sen

Managing Director

ANZ Bank

Angela Hunter

Chief Customer Officer

Prudential


Source: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
collection