Unleashing the Power of AI for Positive Impact

A perspective on the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023

By Melanie Osborne, Founder & CEO

Last week, following a hiatus of a few years due to challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, I attended the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF). The event has evolved into an impressive global gathering, and on entering the Singapore Expo site, I was immediately struck by the considerable scale of this year’s event.

Encompassing seven stages, including five new thematic zones focused on ESG, Regulation, Tech, Founders and Talent, the festival brought together finance, technology, and public policy leaders and experts from across the globe. The focus of the 2023 festival was the profound impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on financial services, explored under the overarching theme: The Application of AI in Financial Services.

In his opening address, Singapore’s newly elected President, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, emphasised that the financial services sector will be impacted more rapidly by fast evolving technologies including generative AI and large language models (LLM) – such as those used to power ChatGPT – than any other sector. It’s important, he said, to think through and find ways to address AI’s distributional consequences.

“It’s important to think through and find ways to address AI’s distributional consequences.”

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of the Republic of Singapore

Acknowledging the transformative potential of generative AI – from enhancing customer experience to streamlining internal processes and revolutionising the way we manage marketing campaigns – the pressing need to address the distributional consequences associated with AI was discussed at length.

Throughout the three-day festival, there was extensive discussion on the fintech industry’s pivotal role in responsible innovation. Emphasis was on the need to identify and prioritise areas where the most impact could be made to ensure affordable, accessible, and inclusive access for all.

Innovation cannot thrive in isolation.  

A recurrent theme in these discussions was the necessity for collaboration within the industry. Recognising that innovation cannot thrive in isolation, the prevailing sentiment was that collaborative efforts within a broader ecosystem yield more significant benefits than working in isolation.

Regulators, too, are actively pushing boundaries to foster greater collaboration and aid innovation – opening ‘railways’ to facilitate speed and access. A notable instance is the innovation in cross-border payments where QR code-based schemes allowing interoperability has gained considerable traction in the APAC region. The announcement of QR-based corridors between Singapore & Malaysia and Singapore & Indonesia is indicative of this progress.

With more than 66,000 attendees (including more than 970 speakers) from 150 countries, the Singapore Fintech Festival has emerged as key event for anyone involved or interested in fintech and the future of the financial services industry. While navigating such a large event requires a degree of planning, I found immense value in the insightful presentations and engaging conversations I participated in and look forward to attending in 2024.