The new FinTech Bridge will help UK FinTech firms and investors access the Asian market and expand to Singapore, as well as attracting Singaporean FinTech companies and investors to the UK.

Singaporean officials and FinTech companies gathered with UK FinTech companies in Downing Street to celebrate the launch of the UK’s first ever FinTech Bridge, which included the signing of a regulatory cooperation agreement between the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

The agreement will enable the regulators to refer FinTech firms to their counterparts across the globe. It also sets out how the regulators plan to share and use information on financial services innovation in their respective markets.

The announcement is a major milestone for both UK and Singapore.

For the UK, this is in line with the government’s commitment to ensure the UK remains the global FinTech capital of the world. The UK FinTech sector is going from strength to strength. It generated £6.6 billion revenue in 2015 and has a workforce of over 60,000 employees.

For Singapore, the announcement underscores the government’s commitment to build a smart financial centre that is among the best globally for innovation and dynamism.

It reflects the shared view that FinTech (and this FinTech bridge) presents an opportunity to scale the use of technology to improve financial services, across two major global financial hubs.

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Harriett Baldwin, attended the FinTech event at Downing Street and said:

“I am delighted to announce that we are launching the first “FinTech Bridge” with Singapore today. This is a great opportunity for the FinTech industry in both the UK and Singapore – and builds upon the deepened financial and economic cooperation between the two countries. Forging this bridge with Singapore is the next step on our journey to ensure that the UK and Singapore both remain outstanding FinTech centres.”