The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have formalised a new partnership aimed at advancing the use of artificial intelligence within the financial sector. Announced during the Singapore FinTech Festival, the UK-Singapore AI-in-Finance Partnership is intended to promote the safe and responsible integration of AI technologies, while supporting firms in both markets as they expand and innovate.
The agreement sets out provisions for AI solution providers in Singapore and the UK to operate across both regulatory environments. It also outlines plans for financial institutions in both countries to engage in collaboration and share information related to AI technologies.
Read next: Insurers starting to use agentic AI - report
Jessica Rusu, chief data, information, and intelligence officer at the FCA, commented: “Through our partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, we’ll be championing safe and responsible AI innovation across UK and Singapore markets. I’m looking forward to seeing how it enables firms in both countries to grow through collaboration, gauge new cross-border opportunities, and shape the future of responsible AI innovation in finance.”
As part of the collaboration, the FCA will appoint a Financial Services Attaché to be based at the British High Commission in Singapore. This will be the FCA’s first formal presence in Singapore and is intended to support its activities in international markets.
Read next: AI adoption reshapes insurance workflows and customer engagement
Rusu commented: “Our appointment to Singapore helps us expand our network of financial services attachés around the world, strengthen our regulatory relationship with MAS, and promote the UK as a global hub for financial services.”
The partnership will include activities such as joint testing of AI applications, sharing regulatory information, and organising events related to AI use in finance. The agencies will use their respective programs, MAS PathFin.ai and FCA AI Spotlight, to support the exchange of AI solutions and cooperation between Singapore and the UK.
Kenneth Gay, chief fintech officer at MAS, commented: “AI is redefining the future of finance – moving from experiments to enterprise use, and from individual models to connected, agentic systems. As this shift accelerates, MAS’s priority is to ensure that adoption is both safe and scalable.”
In a related development, MAS has released a consultation paper proposing new guidelines for AI risk management in the financial sector. The guidelines are intended to clarify supervisory expectations for financial institutions, covering areas such as governance, risk identification, and controls throughout the AI lifecycle.
The proposed framework emphasises the role of board and senior management in overseeing AI risk, the need for comprehensive inventories of AI use, and the implementation of controls addressing data management, fairness, transparency, and human oversight. The guidelines are designed to be proportionate, considering the scale and complexity of each institution’s AI activities.
Ho Hern Shin, deputy managing director at MAS, commented: “The proposed Guidelines on AI Risk Management provide financial institutions with clear supervisory expectations to support them in leveraging AI in their operations. These proportionate, risk-based guidelines enable responsible innovation by financial institutions that implement the relevant safeguards to address key AI-related risks.”
MAS is seeking feedback on the consultation paper until Jan. 31, 2026. The guidelines reflect insights from MAS’s recent supervisory reviews and ongoing dialogue with industry stakeholders.
