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Singapore’s Monetary Authority (MAS) has announced the Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN), taking over from nonprofit Elevandi with the aim of advancing Singapore’s fintech growth strategy. The GFTN plans to build on current fintech initiatives, such as cross-border payment connections and the adoption of AI, to further establish Singapore as a ‘Smart Financial Centre.’ Ravi Menon and Sopnendu Mohanty, both integral to the MAS, will lead the GFTN. In related news, MAS recently granted a Major Payment Institution license to crypto exchange Gemini, affirming the company’s standing in Singapore’s fintech landscape.

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Singapore’s Monetary Authority (MAS) is pushing to make the country a global hotspot for financial tech innovation. They’ve just announced a new project, the Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN), which is set to take their fintech growth strategy to the next level.

The GFTN will take over from a nonprofit organization called Elevandi, which was also set up by the MAS. Elevandi’s job was to link people and businesses, as well as new ideas and insights, in the fintech world in Singapore and the rest of the globe.

In the first part of this plan, Singapore was experimenting with new tech and promoting different initiatives to empower fintech innovation. They developed a regulatory sandbox framework, set up cross-border payment connections, tried out digital assets and tokenization, and promoted the adoption of artificial intelligence. All this effort was part of the MAS’s goal to turn Singapore into a ‘Smart Financial Centre.’

Next up, the GFTN will build on what has been done so far by furthering “industry and policy dialogues in payments, asset tokenization, and AI or quantum.”

The brains behind the GFTN will be Ravi Menon and Sopnendu Mohanty, who have both been heavily involved with the MAS. Menon has been an ambassador for climate action in Singapore and a senior advisor at the National Climate Change Secretariat, as well as a former managing director of MAS. Mohanty is the chief fintech officer at the MAS. According to the managing director of MAS, Chia Der Jiun, the two have played key roles in the growth of Singapore’s fintech sector.

At the end of October, the MAS gave the green light to crypto exchange Gemini for a Major Payment Institution license. This permission means that Gemini will soon be able to provide digital payment tokens and cross-border money transfer services in Singapore. Saad Ahmed, who heads up Gemini’s Asia-Pacific branch, stated that while the United States is their main market, Asia and particularly Singapore are crucial to their global strategy. He also revealed that Gemini plans to hire more employees in Singapore and is in the process of expanding their office space there.

Source: Cointelegraph