Hi SupTech Community,
Welcome to the 27th issue of the Cambridge SupTech Lab bi-weekly LinkedIn newsletter, a source for updates on recent innovations, breakthroughs, opportunities, upcoming events in the suptech field, and news from the Cambridge SupTech Lab team.
If you would like to flag any items for inclusion in the next newsletter, please email us at cambridgesuptechlab@jbs.cam.ac.uk. Occasionally, we email our global community of supervisors, data scientists, vendors, and suptech experts to share event invites, news, or new courses—subscribe here.
This edition includes news from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Bank for International Settlements, Central Bank of the UAE, European Central Bank, Jersey Financial Services Commission, Global Government Fintech, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, International Association of Insurance Supervisors, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and others.
** SupTech Week 2024, 9 – 13 December **
Explore the many new ways to engage in SupTech Week 2024! For a complete overview, go here.
- Virtual forum: with the World Economic Forum as content partner, the online forum will dive into timely topics that align with the latest trends and innovations in financial supervision, such as GenAI, blockchain, climate risk, consumer protection, AML and cybersecurity. Register
- Hackathon: supported by Finos, AfricaNenda and Nvidia, the virtual hackathon will bring together collaborators to develop a cutting-edge API builder for financial supervision. Click here by 18 November to participate.
- Bootcamps: Enrol here for AI Strategies for Public Sector Innovation; and register your interest for Future-Ready Supervision: A practical SupTech Innovation Bootcamp
- Solutions marketplace: secure your spot at our vendor showcase to demo your solutions
Suptech Innovations
Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) trials an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered regulatory chatbot. The chatbot, named Reggie and launched in beta, provides users with a self-help platform offering humanlike answers to regulatory questions. Like other large language models, the tool uses generative AI to provide helpful and conversational responses to user queries. The chatbot currently uses the regulatory codes of practice and the anti-money laundering, countering terrorist financing and proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF) handbook as its source material. Read more here.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and its central bank partners demonstrate that policy compliance can be integrated into cross-border transactions with Project Mandala. The project, a collaboration between the BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre, the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Bank of Korea, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has reached the proof of concept stage. It addresses the significant challenges in maintaining compliance with disparate regulatory and policy frameworks across jurisdictions. The project aligns with the G20 priority actions for enhancing cross-border payments, as it can potentially reduce costs and increase transaction speed, while preserving regulatory compliance. Read more here.
Central Banking & Technology
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to deploy its International Transaction Reporting System (ITRS) in June 2025. In a memo signed by Senior Assistant Governor Iluminada Sicat, the BSP has extended the testing period and implementation of the ITRS to give banks more time to address technical concerns. The ITRS seeks to monitor cross-border transactions and collect data to compile the country’s Balance of Payments (BOP) statistics based on international standards. It also serves as a platform for the BSP’s prudential supervision and monitoring of foreign exchange transactions. Read more here.
MAS launches new fintech network. The MAS has established the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) to strengthen Singapore as a global fintech hub further and enhance global connectivity for impactful innovation in financial services. GFTN will work with MAS to advance industry and policy dialogues in payments, asset tokenisation, AI and quantum technology. Read more here.
BIS to hand over Project mBridge to central banks. The BIS has announced it has “graduated out” of Project mBridge, the cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative it has helped develop since 2021. Although Project mBridge has reached the minimum viable product stage and even invited private sector participation, BIS General Manager Agustín Carstens emphasised on October 31 that the project remains years away from full operational deployment. Read more here.
The provisions for high-risk AI systems by the European Union (EU) AI Act to apply after a transition period of 2 or 3 years. Starting August 2026, high-risk AI systems will have to comply with requirements related to risk management, data quality and governance, logging and traceability, technical documentation, transparency, human oversight, accuracy, robustness, and cybersecurity. High-risk AI systems are limited to those that could significantly harm the health, safety or fundamental rights of individuals. Read more here.
Nepal Rastra Bank issues a comprehensive Green Finance Taxonomy. The taxonomy will help the financial sector transition towards a green economy. It aims to diminish environmental and social risks, attract capital-seeking investments aligned with green and ESG criteria, and foster the creation of financial products and services that promote environmentally sustainable investments and projects. Read more here.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) partners with Bank of Thailand (BOT) on cross-border tokenisation initiatives. The HKMA announced its collaboration with BOT to explore cross-border tokenisation use cases under Project Ensemble and Project San. The two institutions began their fintech collaboration in 2019, will explore Payment versus Payment (PvP) and Delivery versus Payment (DvP) tokenisation use cases, including trade payments and carbon credits. A vital aspect of this collaboration will be a proof-of-concept development, exploring the interoperability of new distributed ledger technology integrated financial market infrastructures (DLT FMIs). Read more here.
MAS announces plans to support commercialisation of asset tokenisation. The MAS, which leads Project Guardian, an international collaboration of industry and regulators that explore the use of fund and asset tokenisation, has announced plans to advance tokenisation in financial services. Their strategy includes creating commercial networks to deepen tokenised asset liquidity, developing an ecosystem of market infrastructures, fostering industry frameworks for tokenised asset implementation and facilitating access to common settlement facility for these assets. Read more here.
Generative AI and related developments could significantly enhance capital market efficiency. Evidence from labour markets and patent filings indicates that AI adoption in capital markets will likely rise sharply soon, potentially transforming market structure through more powerful algorithmic trading and innovative investment strategies. While AI may help reduce certain financial stability risks by improving risk management, liquidity, and market monitoring, it also introduces new challenges, such as increased market speed and volatility, monitoring difficulties for non-bank financial institutions, reliance on key third-party AI providers, and heightened cyber and market manipulation risks. Read more here.
America’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issues final rule regarding personal financial data rights. The CFPB finalised a rule to give consumers greater rights, privacy, and security over their personal financial data. The rule requires financial institutions, credit card issuers, and other financial providers to unlock an individual’s personal financial data and transfer it to another provider at the consumer’s request for free. The rule will help lower loan prices and empower people to fire financial companies that provide bad service. Read more here.
Singapore plans ‘whole-of-government data-sharing interface’ to tackle money laundering. The plan is among the commitments in a ‘National Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Strategy’, jointly published by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs and MAS on 30 October as part of ‘continuing efforts to maintain the effectiveness’ of the city-state’s AML efforts. A key initiative to strengthen detection efforts is the development of NAVIGATE, a new whole-of-government data-sharing platform. NAVIGATE will facilitate real-time and comprehensive analysis of money laundering risks across various agencies. This system replaces the slower ad-hoc data request process, ensuring a more cohesive and timely approach to identifying suspicious activities. Read more here.
The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) prioritises climate change, digital innovation and societal resilience in its Strategic Plan for 2025-2029. Amid global trends expected to shape the insurance landscape over the next five years, the IAIS has identified three strategic themes for its work programme: climate change, digital innovation, including the use of artificial intelligence and cyber risks, and the need for insurance to deliver on its societal purpose of building resilience. Additionally, the IAIS will promote consistent global implementation of its standards by evaluating practices across jurisdictions and assisting members in establishing effective supervisory measures. Read more here.
BIS report for the G20 on tokenisation highlights the opportunities, risks and future considerations for central banks. The report outlines digital tokens and programmable platforms, noting that token arrangements can transform market structures through platform-based intermediation in financial asset life cycles. While they may lower transaction costs and enable innovation, ensuring the safety and efficiency of the financial system will require effective governance and risk management. Risks related to financial market infrastructures also apply to token arrangements but may manifest differently. The report highlights vital considerations for central banks related to trade-offs between different types of settlement assets, oversight and monetary policy. Read more here.
Events
Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) 2024 focuses on AI and quantum technology. With rapid advancement in AI and quantum technology adoption, this ninth edition of the SFF 2024 taking place between 6th to 8th November 2024 offers a unique platform for policymakers and industry leaders to collaborate, foster innovation and unlock new growth opportunities. SFF 2024 will highlight global and regional efforts on decarbonisation, scaling up the use of digital assets, achieving cross-border payment efficiency and advancing financial inclusion. The event will feature an Insights Forum taking place beforehand on 4 and 5 November. The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance is hosting three regulator knowledge exchange events in the Insights Forum, including a panel on “From global standards to cryptoasset regulations, and how to navigate them”, a closed-door roundtable on “Cryptoasset regulation: translating global standards into national regulations” and a networking dinner on 4th November, co-hosted with the Asian Development Bank. Read more here.
