A tale of two cities thriving in FinTech
HI-tRaC
The author’s shorthand for Happiness Index, Infrastructure, Talent, Regulations, Access and Capital. The six pillars that make UAE a great place for a startup. This week’s article is about the infrastructure available in cities of the future.
From the airplane door to the MRT station took 11 minutes, including immigration and baggage collection. The Singapore Expo was just one stop away. About 30 minutes is all it took, from disembarking the flight all the way through to entering the event venue. Delegates were met by smiling faces at the Changi Airport Immigration counters, train information desk and the registration at the FinTech event. The efficiency with which the Lion City processed over 25,000 visitors to the five-day Singapore Fintech Festival is symbolic of how it has become the FinTech Capital of the world.
Three halls for speaking events and acres of exhibition space. Precise time management, meeting scheduling via a highly efficient app built on the back of what could only be artificial intelligence. Once you put your name in, the speed with which connections were made and meetings set up was simply amazing.
The competitive spirit was instantly apparent. The Abu Dhabi Global Market’s pavilion had a commanding position at the event venue and it attracted significant crowds throughout. Many global visitors had their first taste of the magical combination of Arabic Coffee with dates from Abu Dhabi at the venue. Country pavilions vied for attention from bankers, investors, technocrats and entrepreneurs.
The Vizag FinTech Valley from the State of Andhra Pradesh in India made an impressive showing. The three global card networks — Visa, MasterCard and UnionPay — had their products on display within metres from each other. UnionPay’s progress is note-worthy. Each FinTech startup that had a kiosk had a compelling story to tell. Key players from the strategy consulting like KPMG, Deloitte and PwC had also put up interesting and engaging content both through physical spaces as well as through speaking engagements and networking events.
Day Zero began with a series of visits to Labs and Innovation centres. The evening’s networking events included one with Nordic banks and another hosted by PwC. There were instant connections made and the it was immediately clear that the event was very focussed on quick decisions and deals.
Day One’s morning highlight was Ravi Menon’s clarity and perspective on FinTech. As the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), he reiterated the need for Singapore to embrace FinTech and maintain it’s position as one of the top financial centres globally. He laid out the six distinct strategies that Singapore had implemented to maintain and grow its lead in FinTech. Project Ubin, a proof-ofconcept blockchain-based domestic clearing and settlement has been developed with sponsorship by the MAS. Preceding Mr Menon was Joi Ito from the MIT Media Lab. Ito set the tone for the event by comparing the emergence of FinTech to the formation of the earth. A complex adaptive system that does not require a central authority. He also commented on the emergence of cryptocurrencies. He foresees the emergence of standards in the area, stating that the internet developed similarly.
The topics tackled on this day included the challenges faced by incumbents versus the quick and adept startups. Cybersecurity and national payment security frameworks were also examined and commented on.
Key government figures and decision makers from the financial world walked through the exhibition venue without much fanfare. They deeply absorbed what was happening and spoke to exhibitors with curiosity and candour. Ms Christine Lagarde, CEO of IMF was amongst those who visited the booths and pavilions.
Day Two’s highlight speech was by Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance of the largest democracy of the world. He spoke candidly about key structural reforms in India, the short-term shock impact as well as the long-term value of taking these actions. He specifically spoke about the massive demonetisation exercise in 2016 which brought in hundreds of millions into the formal banking sector, JAM — the payments, accounts and identity platform that is enabling massive account set-up and secure payments as well as the 2017 introduction of Goods and Services Taxation uniformity across a continent-sized nation.
Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, also took keen interest in exhibitors at the venue. He spent time with the Singapore-based FinTechs and visited a number of booths and pavilions. Both Singaporeans and visitors alike had the pleasure of meeting with Shanmugaratnam, who spoke to each one with grace, charm and courtesy.
Queen Maxima, in her role as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, addressed the audience on how she has witnessed the impact of access to financial services in changing people’s lives for the better. It can reduce hunger, increase education and generally improve the quality of life. Yet, Queen Maxima noted that over 2 billion people, are locked out of the financial system. With the development of FinTech, she see’s governments recognising the tremendous business opportunity in providing financial services to these excluded people.
Looking forward to Singapore-based FinTech companies bringing their high-quality and efficient solutions to the Middle East and beyond. And vice-versa. The ADGM is an excellent bridge.