The Mojaloop Foundation seeks to improve the economic well-being of 1.7 billion unbanked adults globally through financial inclusion.
The collaboration between MAS and the foundation makes the former the first central bank to do so.
Mojaloop’s open-source software serves as a blueprint for organisations to build interoperable digital payment systems and enable digital financial services for everyone.
The partnership between MAS and the foundation aims to bring together MAS’s policy development perspectives and Mojaloop’s digital payments capability to the underserved in emerging economies.
MAS will provide policy perspectives and technical guidance from its experience with Project Ubin’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) development efforts.
The collaboration will also provide new opportunities in the FinTech ecosystems in Singapore and Asia-Pacific.
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Sopnendu Mohanty, MAS’s chief fintech officer will serve as an adviser to Mojaloop Foundation’s board of directors while Alan Lim, division head of MAS’s fintech infrastructure office, will serve on the technical governing board.
“The Mojaloop Foundation is very pleased to welcome MAS to be our newest sponsor member,” says Paula Hunter, executive director of the Mojaloop Foundation. “The Mojaloop Foundation’s mission to increase financial inclusion is shaped by the potential of emerging economies to innovate and adopt efficient, interoperable domestic and cross-border applications, and MAS will bring valuable experience and expertise that will further our objectives,” she adds.
“MAS’ track record of innovation in regulation and payments brings credibility, new rigor and talent to the Mojaloop community, which can help our partners drive broader adoption of inclusive domestic and cross-border payment platforms that reach and benefit the poor,” says Kosta Peric, chair of the Mojaloop Foundation and deputy director of the Financial Services for the Poor program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“Technology guided by empathy can help bring innovative solutions to real-world
problems and promote an inclusive economy. MAS is excited to join the Mojaloop Foundation to support its open-source technical development and contribute expertise on digital currency- based settlement infrastructure to Mojaloop’s payment system for domestic and cross-border transactions,” says Mohanty.
