Indian Government and Singapore Central Bank Collaborate on Blockchain & Fintech

Andhra Pradesh, a coastal city in southern India, and Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), have announced a partnership to promote fintech innovation, with a focus on blockchain and digital payments.

The Financial Technology Cooperation Agreement signed in India on Saturday saw the cooperation between Singapore's financial regulator and central bank MAS and the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, which is known for its technological ideology. The region has a history of welcoming foreign investment and cooperation and building infrastructure within its borders.

According to a press release from the Singapore central bank, the collaboration will “explore joint innovation projects involving technologies such as digital payments and blockchain,” further highlighting the appeal of blockchain, the underlying technology of Bitcoin.

Through this collaboration, courses based on fintech education programs will also be conducted specifically in India.

Central Bank of Singapore

In a statement, MAS’ Chief Financial Technology Officer Sopnendu Mohanty revealed the reasons behind Singapore’s partnership. Mohanty said:

From MAS’ perspective, we want to create an Indian market for fintech solutions developed in Singapore. This will help Singaporean fintech startups that want to invest in India.

Blockchain Applications

One of the biggest news in the Indian financial and banking industry recently was that about 3.2 million debit cards were found to be at risk due to a malware attack. Mohanty pointed out that blockchain technology could be a solution to curb this illegal activity. As of July 2016, India had issued 669 million debit cards.

In addition, the state food and civil supplies department will also use blockchain pilot projects to prevent the theft of funds. According to an Indian publication, JA Chowdary, IT advisor to the state chief minister, said that the government plans to implement blockchain technology in the Andhra Pradesh civil supplies department to conduct experiments to prevent the withdrawal of funds.

Financial Technology Center

Singapore is a country known for its advanced technology and has always shown a friendly attitude towards innovations in Bitcoin and blockchain. Singapore is the "Blockchain and Financial Technology Innovation Center" for many projects, such as IBM and R3. In the second half of 2015, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong cited Bitcoin and blockchain as an innovative technology that could change the banking industry. When calling on the next US president to appoint a financial technology advisor, Ripple CEO Chris Larsen emphasized that Singapore, as a financial technology center, has long been ahead of the United States in the era of financial technology.

At the same time, Indian private banks have also developed blockchain solutions in the remittance and financial trade sectors. In recent times, several blockchain pilot projects have been successful. Not only that, an IT service giant also revealed that there are more than 100 blockchain projects currently under development.