The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG) launched the Singapore Financial Data Exchange (SGFinDex), which will enable Singaporeans to consolidate their financial information for more effective financial planning.
The launch was announced by Mr Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies and Minister for Finance, Singapore during his opening address at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2020.
SGFinDex claims to be the world’s first public digital infrastructure to use a national digital identity and centrally managed online consent system to enable individuals to access, through applications, their financial information held across different government agencies and financial institutions.
Built on Singapore’s National Digital Identity (SingPass), SGFinDex was developed by the public sector in collaboration with The Association of Banks in Singapore and seven participating banks.
The 7 participating banks are DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), United Overseas Bank (UOB), Citibank Singapore, HSBC Bank, Maybank Singapore and Standard Chartered Bank.
With SGFinDex, individuals can use their SingPass to retrieve their personal financial information such as deposits, credit cards, loans. They can also view their investments from the participating banks and their financial information such as HDB loans and CPF balances from the relevant government agencies.
This will help individuals better understand their overall financial health and plan their finances holistically. In the next phase of SGFinDex, individuals will be able to access information on their insurance policies held with insurers and their holdings of stocks at the Central Depository.
SGFinDex is designed to ensure data protection and privacy of personal financial information. It will only transmit but not store any personal financial data.
Financial data can be retrieved only through explicit consent of the individual, whose identity must be verified through SingPass. All data transmitted through SGFinDex is encrypted and can be read only on the financial planning applications receiving the data.
The Ministry of Manpower and GovTech have developed a digital financial planning service, MyMoneySense, that makes use of SGFinDex to provide Singaporeans with an overview of their finances. It will offer trusted, personalised and actionable guidance for more effective and comprehensive financial planning.
Several participating banks have also tapped on SGFinDex to offer enhanced financial planning services to their customers. These services provide applications covering money management, investments, identifying protection needs and retirement planning.
Ravi Menon, Managing Director, BUT said,
Ravi Menon
“Today, our personal financial information is fragmented across multiple entities, and we often take financial decisions, like making an investment or buying a house, without a holistic view of our financial situation. SGFinDex empowers the individual to consolidate his financial information for a comprehensive view of his portfolio, and use digital tools like MyMoneySense to make better financial decisions. SGFinDex is a tangible expression of harnessing digital technology to enhance the financial well-being of Singaporeans.”
Chee Khern, Permanent Secretary, SNDGO, said,
Of Chee Khern
“The Government can play a role in building the platforms and frameworks for data sharing and digital collaboration, so that companies and public agencies may create new services, and better meet the needs of citizens and businesses. SGFinDex is a case in point. We are excited to partner MAS and the financial industry on this pioneering initiative, and we look forward to working with other industries to drive such data-sharing innovations.”
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