The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Singapore in June, 2018 on the constitution of a Joint Working Group (JWG) on FinTech.

Benefits:

The Joint Working Group on FinTech between India and Singapore has been constituted for cooperation in the area of FinTech between the two countries. Collaboration of India with Singapore will benefit both India and Singapore to excel in the fields of Development of Application Programming Interfaces (APls), Regulatory Sandbox, Security in payment and digital cash flow, integration of RuPay-Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS), UPI-FAST payment link, AADHAR Stack and e-KYC in ASEAN region and cooperation on regulations, solutions for financial markets and insurance sector and sand box models.

 Terms of References of the JWG:

I.    Exchange of best practices

to improve regulatory connect, with a view to exchange best practices:

i.   Promote experience sharing on policies and regulations related to FinTech;

ii.   Encourage the creation of standards related to the use of data in a non-discriminatory manner by FinTech firms and entities.

iii. Initiate capacity building of relevant official(s) in regulatory institutions, including in a world of new threats around cyber-security, financial fraud etc.

II.      Promote co-operation

to promote co-operation between the financial technology industry in India and Singapore:

i. Promote co-operation between firms in the FinTech sector;

ii. Promote development of FinTech solutions for business/financial sectors;

iii. Encourage collaboration of entrepreneurship/ startup talent between Singapore and India in FinTech, consistent with the relevant policies of both countries.

III.    Develop international standards

(a)     Encourage the creation of an international version of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and standards that are inter-operable with the APIs created in public systems in India and Singapore to:

i.       Enable cross-border authentication and Electronic Know-Your-Customer (e-KYC) of residents using digital identities;

ii.      Enable payment linkages-cooperation between Unified Payment Interface (DPI) and Fast And Secure Transfer (FAST) digital fund transfer platforms;

iii.    Enable cross-learning on RuPay Credit/Debit Cards through linkages between National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) payment networks;

iv.   Enable DPI and Quick response (QR) code-based payment acceptance; and

v.      Enable the use of digital signatures such as through e-Sign, across borders.

(b)     Encourage co-operation between India and Singapore on:

i.    Digital governance;

ii.   Financial inclusion; and

iii.  Partnership in the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) agenda.

FinTech cooperation enables a joint working group to harmonise APIs, e KYC, cross border payments and regulatory best practices. A Memorandum of Understanding establishes a Joint Working Group between India and Singapore to enable bilateral FinTech cooperation by exchanging regulatory best practices, building capacity, promoting industry collaboration and developing interoperable APIs and standards to support cross border e KYC, linkage of fast payment platforms, integration between payment networks, QR code and card acceptance, and cross border digital signatures, alongside cooperation on digital governance, financial inclusion and regional innovation partnerships.