MAS Enhances Support for FinTech Innovation under Renewed FSTI 4.0 Scheme

On 31 August 2026, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS“) announced a S$220 million commitment over three years under the renewed Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (“FSTI 4.0“).

FSTI 4.0 is designed around the following four goals:

1. anchor and scale innovation activities in Singapore;
2. accelerate the development, adoption, and deployment of financial technologies (“FinTechs“), with a focus on frontier technologies;
3. develop technology infrastructure to position the financial sector to innovate and adopt new technology solutions; and
4. support talent development and attraction for Singapore’s FinTech ecosystem.

To achieve these goals, FSTI 4.0 will be implemented through the following six tracks:

1. Manpower track:

• Supports FinTech firms in building pipeline of young talent by co-funding the Internship stipend.
• Eligible firms may receive funding of 80% of monthly internship stipend, capped at S$1,000 per month, for up to 12 months, with funding available for up to 10 interns per calendar year. 

2. Institution Project track:

• Supports Singapore-based financial institutions (“FIs“) and FinTech firms in developing and deploying innovative solutions, particularly in frontier technologies such as: (i) Artificial Intelligence (“AI“); (ii) Distributed Ledger Technology (“DLT“); and (iii) Quantum Technology (“QT“).
• Eligible firms may receive funding of up to 50% of qualifying expenses (including manpower, infrastructure, subscriptions, intellectual property (IP) rights, and more), subject to a cap of S$1 million for up to 24 months. 

3. AI Pathfinder track:

• Supports the adoption and scaling of market-ready AI FinTech solutions listed on PathFin.ai to drive sector-wide adoption of AI across Singapore’s financial sector.
• Each eligible project may receive funding of 50% of qualifying expenses (including consultancy fees, software infrastructure, and external auditor’s certification), capped at S$200,000 for Singapore-based AI FinTech projects and S$100,000 for non-Singapore-based AI FinTech projects. 

4. The Infrastructure & Platform track:

• Supports industry-wide infrastructure and platforms that improve sector efficiency, productivity and innovation across the financial sector, with the aim of strengthening Singapore’s role in shaping global financial standards and interoperability frameworks.
• Eligible projects may receive funding of up to 70% of qualifying expenses (including manpower, infrastructure, licences, equipment, IP rights, and more) for up to 24 months. 

5. The Centre of Excellence track:

• Seeks to anchor innovative functions of leading global FIs and FinTech firms in Singapore by attracting specialised talent and supporting growth of emerging technologies, such as AI, DLT, and QT.
• Eligible teams may receive funding of up to 50% and 25% support level on manpower expenses for qualifying roles for Singapore Citizens (“SCs“) and non-SCs (including Permanent Residents (“PRs“)) respectively, for a period of 24 months and up to 50% funding support on non-manpower expenses.

6. The MAS FinTech Awards track:

• Following the success of MAS’ annual Global FinTech Hackcelerator (“GFH“), MAS has introduced a new enhancement, the GFH Scale-up Grant, to further develop and validate eligible finalists’ solutions after the competition.
• The grant provides follow-on funding of up to S$500,000 to help eligible finalists further develop their solutions, reach commercial milestones and establish their presence in Singapore.

FSTI 4.0 will support FinTech firms at every stage of growth, from developing new solutions to scaling regionally and globally. Through investments in infrastructure, frontier technologies and local talent, the scheme will strengthen Singapore’s position as a vibrant and competitive FinTech hub.

Click on the following link for more information:

• Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 4.0) (available at MAS website at www.mas.gov.sg)

If you have any queries on the above, please reach out to our Team set out on this page.

For regional Financial Services Regulatory, and Technology, Media and Telecommunications matters, please see Rajah & Tann Asia’s Financial Services Regulatory Practice and Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice, respectively, for more information.