Singapore is on its way to joining the list of prominent global FinTech centres like New York, San Francisco and London. Singapore is becoming the chosen gateway to enter the Asian Fintech market, owing to stringent legal systems and comfort of doing business.

As per the FinTech Talent Survey 2019 conducted jointly by Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) and PwC Singapore, Singapore is home to promising FinTech companies, with over 70 percent of them headquartered in Singapore and the remaining majorly from Asia, Europe and the Americas, with a majority in Hong Kong and Jakarta.

Recent years have seen tremendous growth in Singapore’s FinTech sector with both global as well local organizations operating from the city. The annual revenue numbers are a testament to Singapore’s ability to be both a launchpad as well as reliable center to run global operations. 38.3 percent respondents reported an annual turnover of over SGD 1 Mn followed while 13.6 percent reported an annual turnover of less than SGD 50,000. Out of the firms crossing SGD 1 Mn in annual revenue, 48 percent of respondents have been in business for the last 3 - 5 years and 39 percent have been in business for over five years.

Breaking down the numbers

While the survey results do not raise any alarms around shortage of talent, to ensure successful execution and implementation of talent strategies there is a need to create policies enabling a smooth and timely flow of talent to the FinTech sector in Singapore. Some interesting numbers brought to light by the survey are shared below.

While no individual sector dominates the Fintech sector in Singapore, the sectoral composition comprises AI/ Machine Learning/ Cognitive Computing firms (13.6 percent), followed by Savings and Investments (12.3 percent) and InsurTech firms (11.1 percent). Payment solutions, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Cryptocurrency constitute under 10 percent individually.

Demand for functions including Cybersecurity, AI/Cognitive Computing and Data Analytics is going to double within the next three years. There will also be a significant increase in demand for skills like Software Application Development and Design/UX/UI.

Current employment numbers for the FinTech industry in Singapore ranges 6,500 - 10,000 employees overall, based on survey results and industry estimates of 600 - 900 FinTech firms in business in Singapore.

Employee composition across functions as per survey results is as below:

Present and future of FinTech Talent in Singapore

The current employee strength across organizations and functions isn’t very high. 40 percent of respondents claimed to have a staff of more than 30 and 50 percent claimed to have an employee headcount between 5 - 30, with 10 percent claiming less than five employees.

The low numbers could be attributed to the fact that the market is still growing and has a long way to go before it can generate large scale employment. To meet the current talent needs, organizations rely heavily on personal connections and recommendations (87.1%), followed by online job portals (78.5%)  and employment agencies and recruitment firms (53.8%).

Speaking of availability and shortage of talent pool in Singapore to meet the growing demands, 20 percent of respondents stated a 0 - 25 percent talent shortfall while only 2 percent stated a shortfall over 100 percent. While the numbers for talent shortage across functions is not negligible, basis the survey responses, filling the talent gap does not appear to be a major challenge.

The future of FinTech in Singapore seems bright with the city’s continuous investment in people and development, however, the ability of the FinTech sector to drive sustainable growth depends largely on the availability and development of skilled talent across functions.