Digital Infrastructure to Enable More Effective Financial Planning by Singaporeans

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG) today launched the Singapore Financial Data Exchange (SGFinDex), which will enable Singaporeans to consolidate their financial information for more effective financial planning.

• SGFinDex is 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.^[1]
• With SGFinDex, individuals can use their SingPass to retrieve their personal financial information (such as deposits, credit cards, loans, and 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.
• 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. Members of the public can use MyMoneySense to plan their finances at mymoneysense.gov.sg.
• 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.
• 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.^[2] All data transmitted through SGFinDex is encrypted and can be read only on the financial planning applications receiving the data.
• Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS, said, “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.”
• Ng Chee Khern, Permanent Secretary, SNDGO, said, “Smart Nation is about using technology to transform and improve lives, and to create new opportunities in an economy powered by digital innovation. 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.”
• Samuel Tsien, Chairman, ABS and Group CEO of OCBC Bank, said, “Banks in Singapore have always been at the forefront of digital innovation, creating online products and services that serve our customers well in a seamless and convenient manner. ABS and the 7 participating banks are pleased to have participated in the world’s first public-privatepartnership in building a public digital infrastructure, that is underpinned by a national digital identity and online consent framework, to help our customers manage their finances holistically. SGFinDex not only showcases Singapore banks’ digital abilities but also our financial planning capabilities.”

[1] The public agencies leading the initiative are MAS, SNDGG (comprising the Smart Nation Digital Government Office (SNDGO) and the Government Technology Agency (GovTech)), with the support of the Ministry of

Manpower (MOM). The 7 participating banks are DBS Bank Ltd, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd,

United Overseas Bank Ltd, Citibank Singapore Ltd, HSBC Bank (Singapore) Ltd, Maybank Singapore Ltd and Standard Chartered Bank Singapore Ltd.  More information on the banks’ participation in this initiative can be found here: https://abs.org.sg/SGFinDex

[2] SGFinDex will take users through a two-step process: (a) Connecting banks to SGFinDex; and (b) Requesting data retrieval from these banks.