SFF shifts focus toward global fintech impact

GFTN outlines shift from scale to real-world outcomes.

Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) is entering a new phase as it moves beyond a decade of rapid expansion to prioritise deeper industry impact, according to GFTN Co-CEO James Boey during the SFF 2025.

Boey said SFF’s legacy began with a modest ambition in 2016, when the Monetary Authority of Singapore sought to convene just 1,000 international stakeholders. “We ended up with more than 10,000 people,” he said, noting how the turnout signalled “the capability and the potential of FinTech as a technology.”

During the pandemic, SFF proved its adaptability. “We brought the content and the dialog to our audiences. We ran these five days, 24 hours… to make sure that the industries across the world are interconnected,” Boey said. As trust between regulators and startups weakened amid market turbulence, SFF curated targeted conversations “to string up all these dialogs and to facilitate that conversation, and again, to convene all different stakeholders to address all these challenges.”

Looking ahead, the festival’s 2025 theme shifts the conversation to the next decade of financial innovation. Boey said AI, tokenisation and quantum technology will shape the near-term transformation of global finance. He cautioned that fintech investment is plateauing in ASEAN and globally, but emphasised new opportunities emerging in “the corridor of the Global South” and the “middle corridor.”

Boey also underscored the urgency of spotlighting quantum risks. “If quantum is able to disrupt and break through the encryption firewall framework, that's where the problem is,” he said, calling for stronger focus on digital infrastructure resilience.

For 2026, SFF will undergo a strategic pivot. “It's not about scale. It's not about size anymore,” Boey said. Instead, GFTN aims to “shift from being a festival to a platform where we create impact, global impact, social impact,” shaped by deep engagement with ecosystem stakeholders.