In another example of the close ties between India and Singapore, the Indian Cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries to establish a joint working group (JWG) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in financial technologies (fintech). The meeting was chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The terms of the references of the JWG seek to promote cooperation between the financial technology industry in India and Singapore. It includes the exchange of best practices to improve regulatory connect, promote experience sharing on fintech policies and regulations, encourage the creation of standards on the use of data by fintech firms of both the 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, Aadhaar Stack and e-KYC in the ASEAN region and cooperation on regulations, solutions for financial markets, insurance sector and sandbox models," said the Indian government in a statement.
Notably, the MoU was signed between India’s Department of Economic Affairs and the Monetary Authority of Singapore during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Singapore in June this year.
It also needs to be mentioned that Singapore payment system operator NETS has partnered with National Payments Corporation of India (NOCI) to establish a cross-border payment linkage between Singapore’s PayNow and India’s Immediate Payment Service (IMPS).
The JWG will also encourage cooperation between India and Singapore on digital governance, financial inclusion and partnership in the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN) agenda, the statement added.