On 13 November 2025, the Monetary Authority of Singapore outlined its vision for the next decade of financial innovation during the second day of the Singapore FinTech Festival. The remarks by Managing Director Chia Der Jiun elaborated on the festival’s growth into a global platform and traced the evolution of Singapore’s FinTech ecosystem since 2016. The address presented a forward looking agenda centred on two transformative forces shaping global finance: artificial intelligence and tokenisation. MAS set out its approach for responsible AI adoption based on capabilities, adoption, governance and workforce upskilling. The speech also articulated a roadmap for the tokenised financial future built on standardisation, shared settlement assets and institutional grade networks. MAS stressed that global collaboration between regulators, financial institutions and innovators remains essential for a safe and interconnected financial system.
The document outlines progress in the FinTech sector, responsible AI adoption and the development of tokenised financial assets. It presents the regulatory, operational and collaborative frameworks needed to scale these technologies and highlights the importance of guardrails for AI and interoperability for tokenisation.
Development of the FinTech ecosystem
Singapore’s FinTech ecosystem has grown through regulatory flexibility, sandbox experimentation and support for innovation centres. More than fifty innovation centres have been set up by financial institutions. Digital payments have become widely adopted, and cross border QR payments now link Singapore with several regional markets.
Responsible AI adoption
MAS identifies four fronts for AI adoption. It is anchoring leading AI competencies in Singapore, with more than thirty financial institutions establishing AI centres. BuildFin.ai will bring together technology providers and research institutes to work on shared challenges. PathFin.ai supports institutions earlier in their AI journey with shared resources. MAS is strengthening governance and safety through the Guidelines on AI Risk Management, which will be published for consultation, and the AI Risk Management Executive Handbook. Workforce upskilling will be guided by the Gen AI Jobs Transformation Map and programmes delivered with the Institute of Banking and Finance.
Tokenisation and the future of asset backed tokens
MAS views tokenisation as a transformative development and refers to tokenised financial assets as asset backed tokens. Project Guardian has demonstrated use cases across markets. Commercial adoption is now visible through tokenised bonds, money market funds and cash management services. MAS outlines three requirements for scale. Tokens need standardisation and interoperability. There must be a deep pool of safe settlement assets. Institutional grade networks are required for wholesale transactions.
Standardisation and interoperability
MAS is developing standards for tokenisation under Project Guardian. Frameworks for funds, bonds and FX have been published as global public goods. The Global Layer One initiative provides common principles and templates for interoperable networks. MAS encourages cooperation among network builders to avoid fragmented systems and promote portability of asset backed tokens.
Safe settlement assets
MAS outlines the role of wholesale central bank digital currency, tokenised bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins. MAS has finalised features of its stablecoin regulatory regime and is preparing draft legislation. It emphasises the importance of reserve backing and redemption reliability. MAS is exploring all three settlement assets through the BLOOM initiative.
Institutional grade networks
MAS further notes that wholesale token transactions require governance, performance, fee transparency, privacy options, settlement finality and regulatory compliance. MAS will publish a Guide on the Tokenisation of Capital Markets Products to clarify the regulatory treatment of tokenised products and applicable disclosures. A joint report titled “Bridging the adoption gap: aligning digital asset offerings with buy-side requirements” was published by the UK Investment Association and the Investment Management Association of Singapore with support from MAS and the UK Financial Conduct Authority. MAS stated that the launch of the GL1 Market Infrastructure Toolkit under the Global Layer One initiative, which contains one hundred and eight controls aligned with the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures and the Digital Asset Securities Control Principles.
Recent developments in settlement trials
MAS announced that DBS, OCBC and UOB have completed interbank overnight lending transactions using wholesale central bank digital currency. MAS will next trial the issuance of tokenised MAS Bills to primary dealers for settlement using central bank digital currency.
(Source: https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/speeches/2025/creating-the-future-of-finance)
