Digital Game Changers

Thought Leadership Series

Episode 7:

In Conversation with Shadab Taiyabi, President - Singapore Fintech Association (SFA).

In Episode 7 of Digital Game Changers podcast and series by Tagit, we talk to Shadab Taiyabi, President – Singapore Fintech Association (SFA).

Shadab leads the SFA Executive Committee, which sets the strategic direction for SFA’s activities related to advocacy, fostering business growth, facilitating access to capital and opportunities as well as growing the FinTech talent pool. He is also the Head of Fintech and Innovation, APAC at Schroders leading collaboration with fintech players and spearheading innovation initiatives in the APAC region.

SFA is the national industry association of Singapore representing almost 900 companies in the FinTech ecosystem. It is a cross-industry initiative designed to facilitate collaboration between all market participants and stakeholders. SFA brings together a strong community to foster collaboration, innovation and partnerships among members and the industry at-large, with the goal of strengthening Singapore’s position as a global FinTech hub.

Some of the topics discussed include:

The latest initiatives of the Singapore Fintech Association and how is it facilitating the growth of the digital ecosystem in Singapore and Asia
– Are there similar Fintech Associations that are a strong influence in their respective geographies?
There has been a fair amount of “buzz” in the market around “Fintech Ecosystems.” How would one define or describe these eco-systems?
-There has also been increased activity in the banking sector over the last 18-24 months of banks using fintech labs as a way of accelerating their digital initiatives. What does it take for a bank to move a successful prototype out of the fintech lab into the real world of banking, considering regulatory environments and the demand of banks for stable and scalable systems?
Digital only banks have now been with us long enough for us to evaluate their merits and returns. While some have been successful, many have been challenged and all of them promote branchless/paperless kinds of environments to entice customers to use their services. Combine the challenges with the recent security and scam reportings, are banks slowing the growth of their digital initiatives? What is the impact to consumers?
What are some of the technology trends that you are seeing that will become a mainstay over the next couple of years?