Key Statistics: Singapore’s Fintech Landscape by the Numbers

Singapore’s fintech sector saw a notable rebound in H1 2025, attracting nearly $1.04 billion across 90 deals—the highest investment level since H1 2023. Compared to H1 2024, deal values increased by approximately 87% year-on-year and 28% from H2 2024.

However, Q3 2025 showed a pullback, with funding falling to $192.8 million—a 39% decline from Q3 2024, signaling cautious investor sentiment amid regulatory adjustments and macroeconomic uncertainty.

Full Year 2025 Projections

Singapore fintech startups are projected to raise $3.8 billion in 2025, accounting for nearly one-third of all startup funding in the country. Seed and Series A rounds totaled nearly $1 billion in 2025, showing strong investor appetite for new ventures.

Current Ecosystem Overview

Singapore is home to 8 fintech unicorns in 2025, spanning digital banking, wealthtech, and insurtech. The Singapore Fintech Map 2025 highlights 520 fintech companies, marking a notable increase from 2024.

The payments sector remains the largest category, accounting for 20.4% of all fintechs with 106 companies.

Investment Trends by Sector

H1 2025 Investment Leaders:

• Payments: $475 million (an almost eightfold increase from H2 2024), driven by mega-deals like Airwallex’s $301 million raise
• Digital Assets & Crypto: $254.1 million across 48 deals (the highest number of deals among all fintech verticals)
• AI-Powered Fintech: $234.5 million across 22 deals—a new high surpassing records from 2023 and 2024

Nearly half of fintech firms now adopt blockchain for payments, trading, or security, making it the most applied emerging technology. One in three fintechs rely on AI to detect fraud, assess credit risk, and enhance customer verification.

Regional Dominance

Singapore maintains its position as Southeast Asia’s fintech leader, accounting for approximately 59% of all fintech funding in ASEAN and over half of deals by number. According to the Global Fintech Index 2025, Singapore ranks 6th worldwide, ahead of hubs like Hong Kong and Seoul.

Consumer Adoption

Almost all Singapore residents use digital payments daily, making cashless transactions the default in retail, dining, and transport. Nearly two-thirds of Singapore’s population actively manages finances through mobile-first banks, while AI-driven wealth management services now serve over one-third of retail investors.

Singapore FinTech Festival 2025

The 10th anniversary Singapore FinTech Festival runs from November 12-14, 2025, under the theme “Technology Blueprint for the Next Decade of Finance,” spotlighting AI, tokenization, and quantum technologies.

The Evolution of Singapore’s Fintech Ecosystem

Historical Foundations

Singapore’s journey as a financial hub began during its time as a British colony and accelerated dramatically after independence in 1965. The government strategically positioned Singapore as a bridge between Western and Asian markets, establishing the Asian Dollar Market in 1968 to facilitate this role.

By the 2000s, Singapore had secured recognition as one of the world’s three leading financial centers (alongside New York and London) and the sixth-largest wealth management center globally.

The Fintech Transformation

The modern fintech era began in 2015 when the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched comprehensive initiatives to support financial technology innovation. These included:

• Digital banking licenses for non-bank organizations to encourage innovation and competition
• Grant programs and funding schemes to support technology adoption
• The Fintech Regulatory Sandbox, which allows companies to test innovative solutions with relaxed regulatory requirements
• The Smart Nation initiative, digitizing government financial functions

Since 2016, the Singapore FinTech Festival has served as a global convening platform, growing to become the industry’s largest annual event.

Three Factors That Make Singapore Exceptional for Fintech

1. Active Government Support and Progressive Regulation

Singapore distinguishes itself through proactive government involvement in fostering innovation. The approach balances strong regulation with flexibility for experimentation.

Financial Incentives:

• Startups can access tax exemptions on their first $100,000 of income, with only 50% tax on the next $200,000
• The Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) 3.0 scheme, launched in 2023, provides up to S$150 million over three years to support projects incorporating cutting-edge technologies
• Special funding tracks offer 50% support for ESG projects and 30% funding for AI adoption initiatives

Regulatory Innovation: The Fintech Regulatory Sandbox allows companies to test innovations with modified regulatory requirements, enabling faster iteration. In 2025, MAS introduced its Digital Token Service Provider framework, setting a benchmark for digital-asset regulation. Paxos became the first company to receive full approval to issue stablecoins in Singapore, followed by StraitsX with its XSGD stablecoin.

Over 100 firms now hold MAS-issued digital banking, payment, or capital market licenses, reinforcing Singapore’s role as a secure and trusted fintech hub.

MAS explicitly states that regulation should not obstruct innovation, creating an environment where strong oversight coexists with entrepreneurial flexibility. Operating in Singapore provides startups with a powerful credential of regulatory compliance.

2. Gateway to the Asia-Pacific Growth Market

While Singapore itself has a population of just over 5 million, it serves as the strategic entry point to the Asia-Pacific region—a market of over 660 million people in Southeast Asia alone.

Market Opportunity: The region presents extraordinary growth potential:

• High proportions of underbanked, underinsured, and underserved populations
• Significant mobile and technology adoption rates
• Strong e-commerce and digital payment growth
• Southeast Asia is projected to be among the world’s fastest-growing regions

Strategic Location: Companies use Singapore as a base for expansion into Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The city-state offers:

• Political stability and rule of law
• English as a business language
• Advanced infrastructure and connectivity
• Time zone alignment with major Asian markets
• A thriving B2B ecosystem alongside consumer opportunities

3. Clean, Reputable, and Well-Regulated Business Environment

Singapore’s reputation for ethical business practices and strong regulation has positioned it as a leader in regulatory technology (regtech). This emphasis on compliance creates a high-quality ecosystem that benefits all participants.

Benefits of Singapore’s Regulatory Environment:

• Strong intellectual property protection
• Transparent legal system based on English common law
• Low corruption levels
• Clear and consistently applied regulations
• Quality assurance—a Singapore license signals credibility

Rather than viewing regulation as a burden, Singapore demonstrates that robust oversight can accelerate innovation by building trust and creating clear frameworks for experimentation.

The Future of Singapore’s Fintech Ecosystem

Singapore’s fintech sector continues to evolve with several key trends shaping its future:

Emerging Technologies and Market Maturation

AI-powered fintech continues its rapid ascent, with H1 2025 seeing record investments of $234.5 million across 22 deals. Both investors and institutional users are particularly keen on generative AI and agentic AI applications that improve operational efficiencies.

Digital banking is approaching profitability milestones. In 2025, Trust Bank led with total income of S$96.9 million, narrowing losses by 27% to S$93.3 million—a near-breakeven performance. Green Link Digital Bank stood out with income surging 447% to S$47.8 million while losses plunged by 83% to just over S$5 million, suggesting early operational stability.

Industry-wide spending on digital security reached $1.1 billion in 2025, reflecting rising cyber threats and regulatory demands.

Cross-Border Innovation and Infrastructure

Singapore launched the Singapore Payments Network (SPaN) in 2025, a not-for-profit hub backed by MAS and major banks designed to oversee national payment schemes and provide governance for innovation. SPaN aims to be operationally ready by end 2026.

The country is advancing payment connectivity by linking PayNow with real-time payment systems across Southeast Asia. Additionally, Project Nexus continues progressing, aiming to redefine regional cross-border payments for years to come.

Regulatory Evolution and Challenges

However, 2025 also brought challenges. The collapse of Tokenize Xchange left over S$266 million owed to customers, forcing a rethink of trust and regulation. The surge in scams led banks to introduce stronger guardrails, sparking national debate about balancing security with user convenience.

Global Position and Future Outlook

Singapore maintains its sixth-place global ranking in the Global Fintech Index 2025, ahead of hubs like Hong Kong and Seoul. While Q3 2025 showed a 39% funding decline amid cautious investor sentiment, the broader trend suggests recovery, with H1 2025 representing the strongest investment period since H1 2023.

Looking ahead, investments are becoming more strategic and focused on AI-powered solutions, particularly generative AI and agentic AI that drive operational efficiency. The fintech ecosystem is shifting toward practical solutions in blockchain infrastructure, climate tech, and compliance-driven technologies.

Several Singapore-based fintechs are reaching maturity and preparing for public markets. Companies like Nium have announced intentions to go public in the US, following the path of MoneyHero and others.

Notable Singapore Fintech Companies

The ecosystem includes several standout companies across various sectors:

Payment Solutions

• YouTrip: Multi-currency wallets for consumers and corporate cards for SMEs (raised US$50 million in October 2023)
• Aspire: Financial operating system for SMEs offering payment accounts and multi-currency management (raised US$100 million Series C in February 2023)
• FOMO Pay: Digital payment solutions for businesses including cross-border payments (S$13.5 million from Jump Crypto in 2022)
• Nium: Embedded finance solutions serving banks and payment providers (US$264 million raised)

Monetization and Infrastructure

• Coda Payments: Monetization solutions for digital products, games, and apps (US$715 million raised, valued at US$2.5 billion)
• Advance Intelligence Group: AI-driven financial services platform (US$700 million raised, valued at US$2 billion)
• Thunes: B2B cross-border payment solutions (US$60 million raised)

Insurtech

• Bolttech: Comprehensive insurance products and services (US$180 million raised)

Tenity’s Role in Singapore’s Fintech Ecosystem

Since establishing our Singapore hub in 2020 as the headquarters of our Asian operations, Tenity has become a central player connecting startups, financial institutions, and investors.

1. Matchmaking Between Financial Institutions and Startups

We bridge the gap between innovation and implementation:

For Startups:

• Access to 400+ mentors
• Guidance on fundraising, hiring, and product-market fit
• Exposure to corporate partners and investors
• Investment through the Tenity INC Fund II

For Corporates:

• Discovery of relevant innovation and technology solutions
• Structured engagement through custom accelerator programs
• Strategic partnerships with vetted startups
• Access to our global network of startups

Our Programs:

• Multiple accelerators and innovation partnerships in Singapore
• Custom accelerators for partners like Franklin Templeton, Dai-ichi Life Group, and Seoul Fintech Labs
• Networking events including Lunch & Learns, InvestFest, and demo days

2. Early-Stage Investment Through Our Fund

Our unique venture fund model allows us to invest in the most promising early-stage fintechs.

Benefits:

• Corporate partners investing in our fund gain exposure to 200+ startups across Singapore, Switzerland, and Estonia
• Diversification reduces risk while providing strategic intelligence on emerging technologies
• Fund investors receive both financial ROI and strategic insights

3. Corporate Innovation Partnership

We help financial institutions develop and execute their innovation strategies through:

• Innovation Discovery: Exploring emerging themes and technologies relevant to specific industries
• Collaboration Frameworks: Designing and implementing structured startup engagement programs
• Strategic Advisory: Guiding overall innovation strategy and digital transformation
• Execution Support: Facilitating pilot projects and partnerships between startups and corporates

Our exclusive focus on fintech and financial services allows us to develop deep expertise and build meaningful connections across the ecosystem.

Why Singapore Should Be on Your Radar

Singapore offers a unique combination of advantages for fintech businesses:

1. Strong government support with meaningful financial incentives and progressive regulation
2. Gateway access to the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific market
3. World-class infrastructure and business environment
4. Thriving ecosystem of startups, corporates, investors, and talent
5. Global credibility that comes with Singapore licensing and operations

The market has matured beyond its initial growth phase and is now entering a period of sustainable development, with a strategic pivot toward practical solutions focused on blockchain infrastructure, climate tech, and compliance-driven technologies.