The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has committed an additional S$100 million to develop quantum and AI technologies in the financial sector.

The central bank will establish a quantum track under the scheme to support financial institutions build quantum capabilities in Singapore.

It said that quantum is a “rapidly advancing field” that has the potential to transform the financial industry and broader economy.

The investment is classified under the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Grand Scheme (FSTI.3.0). Established in 2022 with an initial commitment of S$150 million, FSTI.30.0 currently focuses on six areas, including artificial intelligence, RegTech and environmental, social and governance FinTech.

The Quantum track under FSTI 3.0 includes the Technology Centres grant, Technology Innovation grant, and Security grant.

Its Technology Centres grant aims to support financial institutions in building quantum computing and security innovation infrastructure in Singapore.  

The Technology Innovation grant comprises two sub-tracks: the first aims to boost institutional use cases, while the second is designed to help solve relevant industry-related issues.

The Security grant aims to boost cyber security readiness to better equip financial infrastructure and services for the “quantum era”.

Furthermore, MAS also plans to work with the Institutes of Higher Learning and the Institute of Banking and Finance to help build quantum capabilities in the sector.

The regulator added it will enhance its existing AI and grant scheme to support the development and deployment of AI technologies across Singapore’s financial institutions.

It seeks to support financial institutions in establishing AI innovation centres in Singapore for a range of functions including AI model building and training, deployment of AI models for high-impact use cases, governance and risk management, as well as testing and monitoring.

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