EXCLUSIVE: “A Breed Apart” – Pat Patel, GFTN in ‘The Fintech Magazine’

The launch of the Global Finance & Technology Network by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) coincided with the festival. We talk innovation, regulation and organisation with GFTN’s Pat Patel

Birthing an innovative startup from within a regulatory authority is, as Pat Patel observes, ‘not a well-trodden path’. But it’s what the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) did – twice!

The Fintech Magazine: Having played a key role in setting up the MAS spin-out, Elevandi, the forerunner to GFTN, what can you tell us about the new organisation, its aims and ambitions?

Pat Patel: MAS has taken another bold step in setting up the Global Finance & Technology Network to strengthen Singapore’s position as a global fintech hub and enhance global connectivity for impactful innovation in financial services internationally.

Our mission is to harness technology and foster innovation through global partnerships to promote more efficient, resilient, and inclusive financial policy, finance and technology. It’s all about driving greater synergies within the global finance and technology communities to encourage innovations in financial services that create positive economic value and social impact.

GFTN will build on the success of Elevandi to offer a broader suite of services and capabilities. It will have four strategic businesses: GFTN Forums – a global conference convenor, dedicated to finance and technology

• GFTN Advisory – a knowledge centre, offering practitioner-led advisory services and research on innovation policies and ecosystems
• GFTN Platforms – provider of digital platforms for national infrastructure and businesses, especially SMEs, and accelerate collaborations between fintech and financial institutions.
• GFTN Capital – an investment fund for technology startups that have the potential for sustained growth and positive social impact There are exciting and purposeful times ahead.

What makes this even better is that the legend that is Ravi Menon (Singapore’s Ambassador for Climate Action and Senior Adviser with the National Climate Change Secretariat in the Prime Minister’s Office), will be leading GFTN as our chairman. In addition, he will be joined by Leong Sing Chiong (Deputy Managing Director of MAS) and Neil Parekh (nominated member of parliament for Singapore and Non-executive Chairman at Tikehau Capital) who will be our Deputy Chairmen. Lastly, Sopnendu Mohanty (Chief Fintech Officer at MAS), will be joining as our Group CEO. We will also be announcing at the festival an all-star cast of global leaders from the public and private sectors who will join our International Advisory Board. Prepare to be blown away!

The Fintech Magazine: What has it been like working inside a regulator and getting a look under the hood?

Pat Patel: The opportunity to understand the inner workings is fascinating if you come from the private sector, as I do. My first month at MAS was when Facebook’s Libra was announced. They came in and gave a presentation on what they were doing and I had the opportunity to have a Q and A with some of the leaders from that organisation. So, you get a certain level of access, but also a lot of privileged insight and knowledge that provides greater context to what’s really going on beyond that superficial layer of financial services that we see in the press.

The Fintech Magazine: What are the strategic advantages that Singapore brings to the fintech table?

Pat Patel: Singapore is a tiny country, but it punches well above its weight and has leveraged its geographic position. You have Thailand as a neighbour, Vietnam is virtually on your doorstep. Malaysia, Indonesia, and even India are only a few hours away. So, it leverages the strength of these markets to attract organisations to locate here, and they use it as a stepping stone to do business in other parts of Asia. Singapore also has a strong, progressive regulator that’s firm where it needs to be, but always willing to experiment.

A lot of this is down to having a long-term game plan. Whereas many countries tend to think on a two-to-five-year time horizon, Singapore thinks on a 10, 15, even a 20-year time horizon. Having that consistency makes a massive difference.

The Fintech Magazine: Tell us about some of the major developments you’ve seen here.

Pat Patel: Firstly, MAS has committed an additional $100million under its financial sector technology and innovation grant scheme to support financial institutions building capabilities in quantum and AI. Then there’s Project Nexus, which is led by MAS and the Bank of International Settlements, connecting real-time systems together. They’ve already connected Singapore with Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and India. And what that means is you can make a real-time payment just by knowing someone’s mobile number in one of those markets.

In Europe, the equivalent would be making an instant payment from England to France or Germany. This additional rail, which could be an alternative to money transfer businesses, increases competition and starts to bring the price down, potentially allowing you to build more services on top of those rails.

The Fintech Magazine: This year’s festival has a focus on quantum computing. The signs are that things will change slowly and then suddenly, as has happened with AI. What impact do you see it having on fintech?

Pat Patel: Quantum is going to be closely coupled with other technologies. AI is predicated on having data, so if you have greater processing power with quantum computing, that can enhance the potential applications of artificial intelligence. I also think enhanced processing power will just enable more activity. We’re in that experimental phase now of asking what we could do more of at faster speed, with more computing power. How does that drive the next wave of generative AI? How could it be leveraged with digital assets, and in particular stablecoins? Can this make a difference?

We’re beginning to see some of the combinations or the interplay of those technologies already.

The Fintech Magazine: You mentioned digital assets… how will Web3 play a role in the future of fintech?

Pat Patel: Web2 spurred the wave of fintechs and tech companies that we saw from 2007/08 onwards. When Uber came along, it destroyed a lot of local taxi companies, Airbnb disrupted travel agencies. Likewise, we will see new business models come out of Web3.

There will be a blurring of lines between consumer-facing propositions and financial services because quantum, AI and decentralised networks, which are the core of Web3, will start to generate new ways to think about how you engage with businesses, how you
consume products and services and how you engage with your friends and your network. That will create the next generation of fintech.

We don’t know what that looks like, yet, but we know that when those three technologies come together, we’ll start to see a new way of doing things.

The Fintech Magazine: Many fintechs have come and gone, while others have enjoyed stratospheric growth. What do fintechs today need to consider if they’re going to woo the regulator and stick around long term?

Pat Patel: The regulator has so many priorities to juggle and fintech is just one element of that. Because the industry is moving quickly and it takes a while for regulators to really understand a business model or an application of technology, and assess risk and governance, startups should look to open that bridge with regulators as soon as possible.

That way, the regulator can better understand the direction of travel and what the considerations are. Things can then be tweaked and shaped on both sides, and it’s possible that fintech could shape the thinking of some of the policymakers over time.

As for profitability and sticking around, we’re seeing a mindset shift in founders that have survived the last few years as others have fallen by the wayside. Now we’re seeing the rising stars coming through who know it’s not easy to fundraise, and an IPO isn’t necessarily the golden exit it might have been before. It’s creating a different breed of founder.

DON’T MISS… PAT PATEL’S TWO TOP MUST-DOs AT THE FEST’ THIS YEAR

Use Personatech to network with purpose!

“We’re working with Money20/20 founder Anil Aggarwal to deliver a product called Personatech for attendees, which will help create 20,000-30,000 seamless meetings during the festival. Attendees can meet the people they want and drive business development and ROL.”

Join the Insights Forum

“On November 4 and 5 – before the official opening of Singapore Fintech Festival – we’re running the Insights Forum at Marina Bay Sands for 3,000 leaders from public and private sectors. Through open and closed door programmes, there’ll be roundtables, workshops and design thinking sessions with policymakers, regulators and the private sectors to address industry problems and new developments. It’s a great place to network and learn.”

This article was published in The Fintech Magazine Issue 33, Page 6-7