KPMG unveils Embedded Finance Hub in Singapore

KPMG is launching Singapore’s first embedded finance hub to provide incubation support to more than 120 non-financial enterprises and financial institutions in payments, blockchain, lending, insurance and wealth.

The KPMG-managed Embedded Finance Hub, which is set to run for two years, will work with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the wider ecosystem to accelerate the adoption of embedded finance in Singapore.

It will match industry participants with KPMG’s financial services experts who will offer guidance, knowledge, best practices and “venture acceleration support” to companies that want to enter the embedded finance domain.

KPMG said this includes the co-creation of digital assets to drive developments for payments, gamification of finance, decentralised finance and platforms.

It comes as the KPMG Pulse of Fintech H1’22 report revealed that Singapore’s fintech funding hit a three-year high for first-half-year performance, with a combined deal value of $2.14 billion across venture capital, private equity and mergers and acquisitions.

Funding soared 64% from the combined deal value of $1.31 billion achieved in the first half of 2021, according to the report.

Start-ups will be able to trial their embedded finance innovations at the new Hub and receive feedback from Hub ecosystem participants on how to commercialise them.

Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer at MAS, said: “Embedding relevant financial services in the user journey of non-financial services industries can enhance convenience and value to both customers and businesses. This requires partnerships between financial institutions and businesses, underpinned by trust and technology.”

Hub participants will have access to an enablement programme which is designed to upskill organisations pursuing embedded finance initiatives, as well as a “global library of best practices” curated by industry leaders.

In addition, a range of premium API solutions that can be embedded in external channels and applications will be available to startups via the Hub.

“The next phase of the fintech disruption is moving beyond Open Banking to embedded finance,” said Anton Ruddenklau, partner, global head of innovation, financial services at KPMG International.

“This unleashes new opportunities to create ecosystems for financial services to develop their as-a-service business and work with corporates to partner for new embedded finance initiatives; improving customer experience and creating new sources of revenue. These partnerships drive the uptake of financial services across all industries.”