Open Banking started in Europe as a way to democratise data and give customers more control over how their financial information is managed. Since then, it has evolved greatly and has been adopted by many countries around the world, with Singapore the latest in the list to launch their interpretation of Open Banking.
Building upon the Financial Planning Digital Services (FPDS) initiative which we had covered in April 2020 and compared to Europe’s PSD2 regulation, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has this week delivered its own unique approach publicly named SGFinDex. It requires both banks and government agencies to provide access to data which can then be gathered and consolidated in one platform, and then shared under the consent of consumers.
What is SGFinDex?
SGFinDex stands for Singapore’s Financial Data Exchange and involves the consolidation of financial data from multiple sources including banks and government agencies in one place. It reduces the need for login to multiple apps and channels and simplifies the process of viewing and managing finances.
How does SGFinDex work?
The consent mechanism for SGFinDex and the sharing of data will be facilitated through the financial institutions’ own digital banking services embedding SingPass, the single sign-on service already used by all residents to access the government e-services. Consumers can decide which financial institutions they wish to share their financial data with and will be able to access it all through their banks’ digital channels.
Which banks and government agencies are part of SGFinDex?
Under the current version of SGFinDex, consumers will be able to share data to and from 7 banks established in Singapore, Citibank, DBS, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC, Standard Chartered and UOB, and from 3 different government agencies, the Central Provident Fund Board, Housing Board and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.
What data will be shared?
The financial data being shared includes high level information from financial institutions such as current and savings account balances, fixed deposit balances, unit trust holdings, SRS accounts and holdings, CPFIS accounts and holdings, credit cards, personal and home loan outstanding balances. The data to be shared from government agencies includes CPF account balance, HDB loan balances and monthly instalment amounts together with NRIC/FIN information.
This data will be synchronised on a monthly basis, with the ability for consumers to select, add or revoke the sharing of specific assets, liabilities and/or institutions. What this means is if you synchronise on a given day of the month, the data available is only from the last day of the previous month plus the two months preceding that.
What are the benefits of SGFinDex?
For consumers
- Better experience
SGFinDex provides a simple and efficient way for consumers to view their consolidated financial information without having to log into multiple services.
- Enhanced security
All synchronisations of data are secured by SingPass which uses biometric authentication for login making the process very secure. Consumers also have full control over which data is shared.
- Improved financial planning
Having all financial information in one place will give consumers a holistic overview of their financial standing with personalised insights, recommendations and nudges which will enable them to make better and smarter financial decisions in the short- as well as in the long-term.
For banks
- Financial wellbeing is good for business
SGFinDex can help banks create detailed financial overviews that help consumers with their ongoing financial planning. Building a base of financially literate and secure consumers is in the best interest of banks, as these consumers tend to take on more financial products than those who are not as financially in-the-know.
- Deliver world-class personalised experiences
Once aggregated and classified, the consolidated data should be used to augment and personalise the products and services that are being offered to consumers. It is an opportunity for Singaporean banks to deliver world-class personalised experiences.
It is an exciting time to be delivering digital banking services in Singapore and we will continue to update our blog and newsletter on the latest about SGFinDex. If you would like to find out more about the ability of the Moneythor solution to help your bank deliver value-add services on top of SGFinDex as well as Open Banking in other jurisdictions, please feel free to contact us here.
