Rashad Cassim: Challenges facing fintechs and opportunities to respond

Opening address by Mr Rashad Cassim, Deputy Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, at the World Fintech Festival, organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, virtual, 8 December 2020.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Good day to our South African financial technology (fintech) community and to all our fintech colleagues connecting to the World Fintech Festival in South Africa.

The Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group (IFWG) is honoured to be part of this year's Singapore Fintech Festival. We would like to commend the Monetary Authority of Singapore for organising a virtual festival which is testament to the immense possibilities that are unlocked when we embrace technology in the way we work and interact. My understanding is that we are likely over 100 000 people connected to this event.

Before we begin today's programme, I would like to talk, very briefly, about the significance of fintech, particularly in the context of COVID-191, and reflect on some of the challenges that fintech continues to face. For fintech to continue making inroads into financial services, it may be important for the ecosystem to overcome some of these challenges. Many of these reflections will be explored further by esteemed expert speakers in the panel discussions.