Using digital technologies, they try to redefine the provision of financial services to improve customer experience and to find their place on this highly competitive market. These new players position themselves mostly in market niches with a potential for further development. Such niches are, for example, the digital wallets, person-to-person (P2P) and business-to-business (B2B) payments, as well as value added services offered on the basis of existing traditional payment services. With the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD 2), two new types of electronic payment services were regulated in the European Union – payment initiation services and account information services. These new services are already offered in Bulgaria and provide technological basis for the implementation of the so-called ‘open banking’. It enables FinTech companies to enter the payment market more easily by introducing new business models, services and solutions. Examples for such services are aggregation of payment account data from different payment service providers, carrying out financial analysis, initiating payments from accounts held with other payment service providers, etc. Security of electronic payments remains in the focus of the European and Bulgarian regulators. Increased use of electronic payments and the recent boom in e-commerce pose new challenges with respect to protecting security of payments and electronic identity of customers. The most significant progress here was made in 2019 when the Europe-wide obligation for strong customer authentication was introduced. For this purpose, at least two independent elements of different categories must be used (knowledge, possession and inherence) when processing electronically initiated payments.

Including exchange rate effects, in Sing Dollar terms, MAS recorded a net loss of $ billion. In short, we made good investment gains, but when measured in Sing Dollars, these gains were more than offset by the strength of the currency. If we had reported our P/L in an international currency it would show a healthy profit. The effect of a strong Sing Dollar on our reserves should be seen in a broader context. First, the international purchasing power of our reserves is unaffected by strength of Sing Dollar. MAS’ foreign reserves serve two primary purposes in times of crisis: they finance our imports from the rest of the world, and safeguard the value of our currency. On both fronts, it is foreign currency value of the reserves that matters. Second, the strength of the Sing Dollar has safeguarded our domestic purchasing power. It has helped to moderate the increase in Singaporeans’ cost of living. For instance, while global oil prices rose by 20% in FY2010, domestic prices of oil-related items increased by only 10%. Or take another example of food prices. During FY2010, the rate of increase in food prices in Singapore was about half of that in our major trading partners, which includes both advanced and emerging economies. Last, I will elaborate on our efforts to maintain high regulatory standards. MAS is well-placed to meet higher global standards emerging from international regulatory reforms following the crisis.