Singapore PM urges banks to catch up with blockchain technology

Singapore’s prime minister has urged the country’s banks and regulators to keep up with technological developments, specifically mentioning blockchain.

     Yesterday, at the dinner for the 80th anniversary of United Overseas Bank (UOB), Singapore's Prime Minister Lee mentioned the challenges currently faced by the financial industry and stressed the importance of keeping up with technological developments to remain competitive.

He said:

     “Looking ahead, the banking industry is entering a whole new challenge… The operating environment has become more challenging, but most importantly, technology is driving new business models that are disrupting banks’ legacy businesses. For example, more and more people are making payments through their smartphones.”

Premier Li also mentioned:

     “…there are other new technologies, such as blockchain, which is currently used for Bitcoin, but can also be used in other areas, such as real-time gross settlement, or confirmation of financial transactions. So our banks and regulators must be able to keep up and keep up with the pace of development.”

     Although the industry is currently facing many challenges, Premier Li also said that banks have been in a strong position in the past, but they should not become complacent and need to continue to pay attention to opportunities for change.

     “We are at the heart of Asia’s rise and banks have strong balance sheets and a strong regional presence. There are many opportunities around them to take advantage of, but they also need to understand that this is a competitive business and it is always evolving rapidly. So they have to improve their technology, services and business models.”

     While he praised the country’s banking sector highly, he singled out certain overseas banks for being “exceptional” in promoting their digital banking models.