Ravi Menon: Two problems for FinTech to solve - cross-border payments and ESG data Keynote speech by Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Annual SWIFT International Banking Operations Seminar (SIBOS) 2022, Amsterdam, 10 October 2022. *** Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I am grateful to SWIFT for the opportunity to speak to this distinguished gathering of finance and business leaders from across the world. Most of us here have an affiliation to finance or to technology, or more likely to both. Indeed, the extensive application of technology to enhance the design and delivery of financial services has become a defining feature of the last decade – the FinTech phenomenon. FinTech is increasingly pervasive across not just traditional financial institutions but also non-financial players ranging from small start-ups to large technology firms providing financial services. If its benefits are properly harnessed and its risks well managed, FinTech can be a powerful force for good – solving problems and creating opportunity. In keeping with the theme of this conference, I want to focus today on two challenges in financial services where FinTech can potentially play a positive transformative role:  one, cross-border payment and settlement; and two, high quality, trusted ESG data. These two challenges are what I would call foundational issues that need to be addressed before broader progress can be made. Payments is the life blood of the modern economy.
6/8  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  Companies' one-time inputs can be automatically mapped across a range of major sustainability standards and frameworks, allowing them to cater to different investor requirements. Sustainability reports can also be automatically generated from these inputs. MAS will draw on the learnings from ESGenome to ensure that the ESG Disclosure Portal caters over time to the reporting needs of a broader universe of corporates, notably small and medium-sized enterprises, supply chain partners and suppliers. The ESG Registry draws on a blockchain solution to record and maintain the provenance of green certifications issued by various sectoral bodies. Titled ESGpedia, the ESG Registry was developed with the help of local Green FinTech firm STACS and launched in May this year. It allows banks to access green certifications issued by various bodies for their green and sustainable financing decisions. MAS will continue to work with STACS and our industry partners to build up the Registry's network of certifications, thereby providing more confidence to the users of these data. The Data Orchestrator aims to aggregate ESG data from multiple data sources. This will include major ESG data providers, utilities providers, sectoral platforms, and of course the ESG Data Registry. The Data Orchestrator will provide consentbased access to these sources. It will also allow new data insights to be generated through data analytics to better support investment and financing decisions. We aim to launch the Data Orchestrator next year.