The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Singapore in June, 2018 on the constitution of a Joint Working Group (JWG) on FinTech. Collaboration of India with Singapore is said to benefit both countries in the fields of development of Application Programming Interfaces (APls), Regulatory Sandbox, security in payment and digital cash flow, integration of RuPay-Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS), UPI-FAST payment link, Aadhaar Stack and e-KYC in ASEAN region and co-operation on regulations, solutions for financial markets and insurance sector and sand box models.
The JWG will exchange best practices to improve regulatory connect, promote experience sharing on policies and regulations related to FinTech, encourage the creation of standards related to the use of data in a non-discriminatory manner by FinTech firms and entities, initiate capacity building of relevant officials in regulatory institutions, including in a world of new threats around cyber-security, financial fraud etc.
It will also promote co-operation between firms in the FinTech sector, promote development of FinTech solutions for business/financial sectors, encourage collaboration of entrepreneurship/ startup talent between Singapore and India in FinTech, consistent with the relevant policies of both countries.
In order to develop international standards, the JWG will encourage the creation of an international version of APIs and standards that are inter-operable with the APIs created in public systems in India and Singapore to enable cross-border authentication and Electronic Know-Your-Customer (e-KYC) of residents using digital identities; enable payment linkages-cooperation between Unified Payment Interface (DPI) and Fast And Secure Transfer (FAST) digital fund transfer platforms; enable cross-learning on RuPay Credit/Debit Cards through linkages between National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) payment networks; enable DPI and Quick response (QR) code-based payment acceptance; and enable the use of digital signatures such as through e-Sign, across borders.