The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced they will issue five digital banking licenses in June and the winning bids will start operating in early 2021; applications have already been received by Singapore gaming company Razer, ride-hailing app Grab, Xiaomi and Ant Financial; “As in other markets we don’t expect the entrance of new players to result in a ‘Big Bang’ but rather a general improvement in service availability, customer experience and pricing,” James Lloyd, Asia-Pacific Fintech and Payments Leader for Ernst & Young, said to the FT. “More than anything else this initiative reflects the Singapore government’s desire to keep pace with innovation and fintech developments elsewhere.”; unlike some of the other markets in the region Singapore has created different licenses for different types of banking activities; overall impact of new entrants on incumbents is expected to be minimal as most of the established banks in the country are digitally savvy. Financial Times
