Singapore, 23 March 2022 – The Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) today announced that it has raised S$120,000 for the National Trades Union Congress’ U Care Fund (NTUC-U Care Fund), during the FinTech for Good 2022 event that was held earlier in the day. The total amount raised exceeded the original target of S$100,000.

The event, which was jointly organised by SFA and NTUC, recognised SFA corporate members who contributed to the fundraising effort under the FinTech for Good initiative. Led by SFA, in partnership with NTUC, FinTech for Good lends support to various initiatives under the NTUC-U Care Fund, which aims to better the welfare of low-income union members and their families. The NTUC-U Care Fund primarily focuses on four areas namely, caring for the elderly, assisting members, supporting the community as well as empowering children and youth. This is the second time SFA and NTUC-U Care Fund have joined forces for the initiative, following a successful run in 2020, where a total of S$100,000 was raised.
The FinTech for Good 2022 event was graced by Guest-of-Honour, Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Trade and Industry & Culture, Community and Youth, who presented plaques to donors to recognise FinTech’s contribution to the NTUC-U Care Fund. FinTech for Good saw contributions from grand donor Crypto.com, as well as other donors namely, Advance Intelligence, Aspire, M-Daq, NETS, NIUM, PPRO and Volopay.

Following the plaque presentation, Mr Alvin Tan participated in a panel discussion with Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore to discuss the integral role the FinTech ecosystem plays in cementing Singapore’s position as a leading FinTech hub in Asia. The panel discussion was moderated by Ms Sana Rahman, Executive Committee Member, SFA and Head of Communications APAC, Wise.

Key highlights of the panel discussion include:

• • Singapore’s FinTech landscape has grown rapidly in the last few years, with the number of FinTech companies in Singapore rising from 60 in 2015 to approximately 1,400 currently

• • Funding for Singapore FinTechs was up more than three times in the first nine months of 2021 compared with full-year 2020 to a historic high of US$3.5 billion

• • Singapore is looking to further strengthen its FinTech infrastructure, pre-empting the need for the rising demand in data and capital

• • Cross-pollination across sectors will help unlock further growth and innovation in Singapore

• • Trends that will shape the future of FinTech include embedded finance, decentralised finance and green finance

• • To grow the FinTech industry, it is crucial to build Singapore’s pool of talent and capture talent innovation ideas

• A key strength for Singapore that comes into play is its robust and forward-looking regulatory framework, which is key to maintaining trust and credibility within the global FinTech ecosystem

Mr Shadab Taiyabi, President of the SFA, commented: “As the Singapore economy looks to emerge stronger from the pandemic, we must remember individuals and families that may need that extra help to better their livelihoods. For this reason, we are deeply humbled that donors from the FinTech community have banded together and come forward to support those in need. Their support demonstrates the impact FinTech has on different facets of society and we look forward to our continued partnership with NTUC-U Care Fund.”

Mr Zainal Sapari, NTUC Assistant Director-General and Director of NTUC Care and Share Department, said, “We are happy to collaborate with industry associations such as SFA as part of our fundraising efforts this year to help our lower-income members and their families, who may need an additional boost to tide through these difficult times. It is our second time working with SFA on FinTech For Good and we are grateful to be part of this meaningful initiative. I hope that more corporates and individuals will come on board through similar means for us to make it a sustainable fundraising effort for a worthy cause.”

About Singapore FinTech Association (SFA)

The SFA is a cross-industry and non-profit organisation. Its purpose is to support the development of the FinTech industry in Singapore, and to facilitate collaboration among the participants and stakeholders of the FinTech ecosystem in Singapore. The SFA is a member-based organisation with over 800+ members. It represents the full range of stakeholders in the FinTech industry, from early-stage innovative companies to large financial players and service providers. To further its purpose, the SFA also partners with institutions and associations from Singapore and globally to cooperate on initiatives relating to the FinTech industry. Well-connected globally, the SFA has signed over 70 international Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to lay the network for its members and ecosystem.

https://singaporefintech.org/

About NTUC-U Care Fund

The NTUC-U Care Fund was established in 2009 to consolidate the Labour Movement’s fundraising efforts to better the welfare of lower-income union members and their families. Through the collective efforts of the NTUC-affiliated unions, association and social enterprises, together with management and tripartite partners, over $110 million has been disbursed since 2009 to help workers affected by the economic downturn and fund our assistance programmes. Since its inception, the NTUC-U Care Fund has strived to make a difference in the lives of its lower-income members and their families by helping them to lessen their financial burden.

For media queries, please contact:

Elizabeth Yeong / Desmond Wong for Cognito, on behalf of SFA
[email protected]