The Monetary Authority of Singapore has committed S$220 million to FSTI 4.0, the next three-year version of its Financial Sector Technology and Innovation scheme. The money will support six tracks spanning technology projects, AI adoption, infrastructure, international centres, industry awards and internships.
The headline is a programme envelope, not a direct payment to Singapore’s more than 1,800 fintech firms. MAS has not allocated the S$220 million by track or published the application dates, co-funding percentages, project caps and assessment criteria needed for firms to calculate the support available to them.
Six Tracks Share One Three-Year Envelope
The Institution Project track is open to Singapore-based financial institutions and fintech companies developing and deploying technology. MAS highlighted artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technology and quantum technology, but did not restrict the track to those fields.
AI Pathfinder is narrower. It is intended to help financial institutions deploy market-ready AI products listed on PathFin.ai, a MAS-led platform connecting banks and other firms with vendors and implementation knowledge. The track moves funding from research toward adoption, but the announcement does not say how a product qualifies for listing or what proportion of deployment cost MAS will cover.
PathFin already has practical precedents. Standard Chartered and Ant International have used the programme in work on AI-driven treasury and FX management, which FinanceFeeds covered when the firms extended their forecasting and payments collaboration.
The Infrastructure and Platform track targets shared systems that improve sector efficiency and interoperability. The Centre of Excellence track seeks to anchor specialist functions from large financial institutions and fintech companies in Singapore, with AI, quantum computing and digital assets among the named areas.
The sixth channel continues the MAS FinTech Awards and Global FinTech Hackcelerator. FSTI 4.0 adds a GFH Scale-up Grant for eligible finalists to validate products after the competition, attract private investment and establish a stronger Singapore presence.
Internships Have the Only Published Delivery Target
The Manpower track will co-fund internship stipends and support a new portal operated by the Singapore FinTech Association. MAS aims to support at least 1,000 internship opportunities over three years for students from Singapore’s Institutes of Higher Learning.
That equates to an average of roughly 333 opportunities a year, although delivery need not be even. The announcement does not disclose the stipend subsidy, placement duration, employer contribution, eligible roles or whether one company can receive support for multiple interns.
The dedicated track is more concrete than a general talent condition. It also acknowledges that technology adoption depends on people in engineering, data, compliance, cybersecurity and commercial roles. Singapore’s fintech sector employs close to 10,000 professionals, according to MAS, so the internship target equals about one opportunity for every ten existing sector workers over the programme’s life. It should not be read as a promise of 1,000 permanent jobs.
FSTI 4.0 Is Larger and More Deployment-Focused
FSTI 3.0 provided up to S$150 million from 2023 to 2026. The new S$220 million envelope is S$70 million larger, a nominal increase of about 46.7%. That comparison does not show a like-for-like annual increase because disbursement timing, unused prior funding and track allocations have not been published.
FinanceFeeds’ initial report on FSTI 4.0’s six tracks and internship target noted two structural changes. ESG fintech is no longer a standalone track, while AI support now includes deployment of market-ready products through AI Pathfinder. The earlier scheme focused more heavily on capability development and experimentation.
MAS said the wider FSTI programme has supported more than 350 fintech projects and over 30 centres of excellence since 2015. It also said Global FinTech Hackcelerator finalists have raised more than S$3.8 billion. That fundraising figure is an outcome associated with participating companies, not money distributed by MAS or proof that the programme caused each investment.
Digital Assets Sit Alongside AI and Quantum Projects
Digital assets are named within the Centre of Excellence track rather than given a standalone fund. This fits Singapore’s broader approach of supporting regulated infrastructure while taking action against firms that may be mistaken for licensed providers.
FinanceFeeds recently reported that MAS added Hyperliquid to its Investor Alert List, days after a similar entry for Bybit. At the same time, licensed providers have expanded locally, including BitGo’s regulated Singapore custody and trading operation.
FSTI funding therefore should not be treated as regulatory approval for a product. A supported technology project, award finalist or centre of excellence still needs the licences, controls and customer safeguards required for the financial service it provides.
Applicants Still Need the Operating Rules
The announcement gives firms enough information to identify a likely track. A fintech employer can look to Manpower, a bank deploying a listed AI product can examine AI Pathfinder, and a consortium building shared infrastructure can prepare for the Infrastructure and Platform track.
It does not yet let them price an application. The key documents will be the detailed eligibility rules, qualifying expenditure, co-funding rate, award cap, project period, intellectual-property conditions and reporting obligations for each track. Firms also need to know whether applications are continuous or handled in rounds.
MAS says Singapore attracted S$2.9 billion in fintech investment in 2025. The S$220 million public envelope is meaningful beside that figure, but the two measures are different: one is a three-year government programme and the other is one year of private investment across the sector.
FSTI 4.0 broadens Singapore’s support from product development through deployment, hiring and scale-up. Its real distributional effect will become visible only when MAS publishes how the S$220 million is divided and which costs each track will reimburse.