Singapore revitalises the future of local fintech with the new FSTI 4.0 fintech funding scheme.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), country’s central bank and financial regulator, announced on 31 August 2026 that it would commit S$220 million (about US$173 million) over the next three years to support its fintech industry. The support money will come through a renewed program called the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme, or FSTI 4.0. That’s the fourth version of a long-existing scheme MAS has run since 2015. The goal of this heavy investing initiative is to help Singaporean banks and fintech companies build and use new technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), much faster than they could on their own, without state support.
Over the years, Singapore has managed to build one of the world’s most active fintech hubs globally. Toady, MAS wants to keep that lead as AI reshapes how financial services are built.
According to MAS data, Singapore is now home to more than 1,800 fintech firms, employing close to 10,000 people across roles in technology, data, AI, compliance, cybersecurity and business. Total fintech investment in the country reached S$2.9 billion in 2025, reported the regulator.
The new S$220 million pledge is notably larger than the S$150 million set aside for the same purpose under the previous version of the scheme – FSTI 3.0 which went on from 2023 to March 2026. The boost is timely, since a recent research from professional services firm KPMG found that private investment into Singapore’s fintech companies dropped sharply in the first half of 2026, to around US$499 million, the weakest half-year showing in nearly a decade. Thus, the surge in public funding, would help MAS to cushion the industry while private investors pull back and consolidate their bets into fewer, larger deals.
Since its 2015 launch, the FSTI scheme has backed more than 350 projects and helped establish over 30 specialised research and innovation centres. FSTI 4.0 is organised around four broad aims: anchoring innovation activity in Singapore, speeding up the adoption of new financial technologies (particularly AI, but also areas like distributed ledger and quantum computing), building shared technology infrastructure that smaller firms can tap into, and developing local talent. In practice, this is split into six funding “tracks” covering institutional projects, AI adoption, infrastructure, centres of excellence, manpower and industry awards.
Talent building is one of the main focuses this time. MAS plans to co-fund at least 1,000 fintech internship opportunities for Singaporean students over the next three years, supported by a new online portal run by the Singapore FinTech Association to match students with fintech employers.
Alongside the new funding opportunities, local fintech firms in Singapore will also soon have clearer rules for building their digital assets infrastructure. MAS is proposing a dedicated licensing framework for stablecoins — digital tokens designed to hold a steady value, most often pegged to a relatively stable fiat currency like the Singapore dollar.
Under the plan, only approved issuers meeting requirements on capital, disclosure and redemption could market their tokens as “MAS-regulated stablecoins.” This would give companies a recognised label to build toward and also assist users with an easier way to tell safer tokens apart from the rest. Combined with the FSTI 4.0 funding chances, the move gives Singapore-based fintechs both the capital and the regulatory clarity to expand further into crypto and digital-asset development.
