New scheme designed to support talent development, attraction in FinTech ecosystem
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has committed S$220 million over three years to strengthen the country's FinTech ecosystem, with talent development among the scheme's core objectives.
The investment goes into the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme 4.0 (FSTI 4.0), which will fund a dedicated Manpower track that co-funds internship stipends for students placed with FinTech firms.
"MAS aims to support at least 1,000 FinTech internship opportunities over the next three years," the country's central bank said.
To support the initiative, a new FinTech Internship Portal, fintechinternships.sg, managed by the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA), will connect firms with students from Institutes of Higher Learning for placements across business, technology, and other roles.
The talent push is one of four goals underpinning FSTI 4.0, alongside anchoring and scaling innovation activities in Singapore, accelerating the development and deployment of frontier financial technologies, and building technology infrastructure across the sector.
"Together, these four goals reflect MAS' commitment to building a financial sector that is innovative, resilient and globally competitive," the central bank said.
The announcement comes as Singapore's FinTech sector reaches considerable scale.
The country is now home to more than 1,800 FinTech firms employing close to 10,000 professionals across technology, data, artificial intelligence, compliance, cybersecurity, and business roles. FinTech investments in the country reached S$2.9 billion in 2025.
Other funding tracks of FSTI 4.0
FSTI 4.0 is structured around six funding tracks. Beyond the Manpower track, the Institution Project track supports financial institutions and FinTech firms in developing and deploying solutions built on frontier technologies, including AI, Distributed Ledger Technology, and Quantum Technology.
The AI Pathfinder track enables financial institutions to deploy market-ready AI solutions listed on PathFin.ai. The Infrastructure and Platform track targets shared systems that improve sector-wide efficiency and productivity, while also supporting Singapore's role in shaping global financial standards and interoperability frameworks.
Meanwhile, the Centre of Excellence track seeks to anchor high-value, specialised functions of leading global firms in Singapore, with a focus on AI, quantum computing, and digital assets.
The MAS FinTech Awards track continues to support the Singapore FinTech Festival's FinTech Excellence Awards and Global FinTech Hackcelerator.
MAS also introduced a new GFH Scale-up Grant to help eligible Hackcelerator finalists develop and validate their solutions after the competition and attract private investment.
