In an effort to accelerate the adoption and integration of technology in the financial sector, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has pledged $42 million as part of a regtech grant scheme.
Available to Singapore-based financial institutions regulated by the MAS, the RegTech grant offers two funding tracks including;
- Pilot Track with funding of up to $75,000 for test prototyping of RegTech solutions, or
- Production Level Project Track that supports regulatory technology solutions designed and developed from scratch or Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) solutions, which are customised to suit the operating environment of the financial institution. 50% of qualifying expenses, capped at $300,000.
As a Singapore Fintech Association certified RegTech provider, and eligible as a MAS COTS solution, Pole Star’s regulatory technology, PurpleTRAC, provides an integrated and digitised sanctions and sustainability screening, vessel monitoring, and regulatory reporting solution to institutions with exposure to maritime trade and shipping.
Deeply embedded in the trade digitisation landscape of Singapore, Pole Star, with a local office and the availability of PurpleTRAC as a value-added-service through the Singapore Networked Trade Platform (NTP), encourages local financial institutions to take advantage of this MAS RegTech grant and engage our assistance to reduce risk and increase efficiency and compliance within your organisation.
PurpleTRAC has been awarded for its regulatory technology innovation by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Citibank, and Microsoft, recognised by the World Economic Forum, the UN, and the US Peace Tech Accelerator Program, and most recently awarded the GTR Leaders in Trade Award for Sustainability.
How can PurpleTRAC help you manage the current digitisation and sustainability needs of the industry?
Technology and sustainability are the two key driving forces shaping the future of financial services. While ensuring that these considerations are factored into daily activities, financial institutions must also ensure that they have a robust compliance programme in place.
With the MAS taking active steps towards defining sustainable finance as a feature of Singapore’s role as an international centre of finance, PurpleTRAC brings together the key components needed to enable decarbonisation and digital efficiency across trade. The solution supports fundamental sanctions compliance requirements that underpin international trade, as well as the interoperability of these processes with front end UI, API, and trade platform integration. Additionally, with climate concerns gaining traction globally and environmental regulations being incorporated into Singapore’s long term sustainability targets, PurpleTRAC enables the screening of carbon emissions and environmental impact data for financial reporting and sustainable trade finance programmes.
Managing sanctions & sustainability risk in a complex regulatory landscape:
Particularly for Singapore-based financial institutions, the need to be vigilant regarding North Korean and other global sanctions is higher than ever.
In under 30 seconds, PurpleTRAC allows users to:
- Screen a vessel used in a transaction, its associated ownership and management, and past port calls against watchlists and countries.
- Verify a Bill of Lading and screen the vessels, ports, and carriers involved in its delivery quickly and efficiently from a single field of input.
- Calculate the carbon emission output and environmental impact of a transaction.
- Monitor a ship’s real-time movements and dark activity for high-risk behaviour.
- Generate an audit trail to demonstrate best efforts in compliance.
For enhanced due diligence needs, our partners at Dow Jones have incorporated PurpleTRAC into RiskCenter Trade Compliance, allowing users to conduct routine checks on all key aspects of a transaction to ensure compliance with sanctions and dual-use goods regulations, while also obtaining a complete view of regulatory risks faced by organisations with exposures in maritime trade.
Adapting to the renewed MAS focus on ensuring a low-carbon future:
The global commodities sector contributes 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of commodity traders’ carbon emissions relate to shipping. As such, it is now recognised that companies must incorporate their GHG emissions measurements into financial reporting and sustainable trade finance programs.
With our new CarbonChain vessel emission scoring functionality in PurpleTRAC, users can:
- Calculate the carbon score and environmental impact of a transaction, as well as the vessels in their supply chain.
- Screen vessels to ensure they meet carbon footprint targets.
The need for digitisation-induced efficiency:
Streamlining compliance processes and using technologies to enable efficient, cost effective screening and escalation processes is more important than ever.
Fully configurable to an institution’s internal risk parameters to ensure consistent risk management across branches, PurpleTRAC users can:
- Generate that all-important audit trail for demonstration of best efforts in compliance should regulators ever come knocking.
- Tailor specific risk parameters to their institution’s unique internal compliance policies.
Our partnership with global trade finance technology provider, TradeIX, now also provides an ‘off-the-shelf’ payment commitment & sanctions screening solution for canal transit, high value port call, and bunker fuel financing programmes, enabling the increase in capacity and velocity of transactions, while incorporating compliance and reporting requirements into programme workflows.
Get in touch via [email protected] to learn more about how to streamline your compliance processes using maritime intelligence, discuss how you can begin using our solutions with MAS funding, or register for a free PurpleTRAC trial.