AI, Tokenisation, and Quantum-Safe Finance: What to Expect at SFF 2025
AI, tokenisation, and quantum computing are resetting how money moves, how risk is priced, and who gets access. That agenda takes the main stage at the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) 2025, organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), in collaboration with the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS).
This year's focus is clear: a Technology Blueprint for the Next Decade of Finance. Ten years in, the Festival doubles down on an open, trusted, and interoperable financial system built on practical standards and accountable innovation.
AI: Trust-first systems, measurable gains
AI will be discussed through a risk-and-returns lens: smarter decisions, stronger controls, and broader access. Expect deeper work on shared data standards, explainability, and governance-so models can be audited, monitored, and improved without guesswork.
- Near-term use cases: credit decisioning, collections optimisation, KYC/AML investigation aids, model risk triage, fraud scoring.
- Guardrails to prioritise: model lineage, policy-aligned datasets, bias checks, scenario testing, and secure deployment patterns for GenAI.
- Metrics that matter: approval uplift vs. loss rates, false-positive reduction, time-to-decision, alert quality, and model drift.
Tokenisation: Programmable value, real settlement impact
Industry leaders will examine programmable ledgers and globally coordinated frameworks that cut settlement times and reduce cost per transaction. The discussion goes beyond pilots: how tokenised assets, stablecoins, and CBDCs can streamline cross-border settlement and liquidity management for both developed and emerging markets.
- Where value shows up: intraday liquidity, multi-currency cash management, collateral mobility, and atomic settlement for complex trades.
- What to watch: interoperability across chains and RTGS systems, compliance-by-design, and standardised identity/attestation layers.
For policy context, see MAS updates and regulatory resources at MAS and CBDC research at the BIS.
Preparing for a quantum era
Sessions will highlight how to move from "post-quantum awareness" to concrete roadmaps. The focus: inventorying cryptography across systems, prioritising high-risk interfaces, and planning migration to quantum-resilient standards before timelines get compressed.
- Practical steps: crypto inventory, crypto-agility patterns, vendor attestations, and board-level milestones tied to operational resilience.
- Benchmarks: alignment with emerging post-quantum cryptography standards, key rotation policies, and secure key management at scale.
Inclusion: Interoperability that reaches 1.4B unbanked
Financial inclusion returns as a core outcome, not a side stream. Expect debate on how interoperable digital public infrastructure, shared ID rails, and risk-aware data exchange can expand access while controlling fraud and credit losses.
- Operator priorities: low-cost KYC, shared utilities, and consented data flows that improve thin-file scoring.
- Impact lens: usage, not just access-account activity, payment reliability, and small-ticket credit performance.
10th anniversary initiatives
- SFF 10th Anniversary Gallery: a retrospective on a decade of financial innovation.
- Time Capsule: predictions and artefacts projecting finance in 2035.
- Next Gen Leaders Programme: developing young innovators in AI, blockchain, and emerging tech.
- SME Sustainability Barometer 2025: built with technology and consulting experts alongside the Sustainability Alliance and the Singapore Business Federation-data-driven insights to help SMEs adopt sustainable practices and access green finance.
Deep-dives and live demos
The Insights Forum™ convenes policymakers, investors, and technology leaders ahead of the main conference. The Layer 1 Summit returns, focusing on AI infrastructure, tokenisation frameworks, and the digital asset economy.
The Innovation Lab Crawl spans 11 organisations with live pilots-AI-powered credit assessment, blockchain-based compliance, and more-so teams can pressure-test ideas against real constraints.
Why this matters for finance leaders
- Capital allocation: where AI and tokenised rails deliver cost-to-serve reduction and capital efficiency.
- Risk and compliance: model governance, post-quantum timelines, supervisory expectations, audit-ready telemetry.
- Infrastructure: interoperability across ledgers and payment systems; crypto-agility by default.
- Operating model: data contracts, shared utilities, and product-led collaboration with regulators and peers.
- Talent: applied AI engineers, cryptography specialists, product managers for digital assets, and risk pros fluent in both tech and policy.
Questions to bring to SFF 2025
- Which AI use cases deliver measurable uplift in 12 months without increasing loss ratios or compliance risk?
- How will tokenised settlement interact with existing RTGS and treasury systems-what's the interoperability plan?
- What is our cryptography inventory and migration path for a quantum-ready posture-who owns the milestones?
- Which shared utilities (KYC, identity, attestations) reduce duplicate spend while improving controls?
- How do we measure inclusion outcomes beyond onboarding-what product and risk levers move those metrics?
From the organisers
Kenneth Gay, Chief FinTech Officer at MAS: "This gathering provides an opportunity for the global ecosystem to share knowledge, forge meaningful partnerships and collectively redefine how financial services are delivered."
The Group Chief Executive Officer of GFTN added: "The future of finance depends on how responsibly we use AI, how safely we scale tokenisation and how well we prepare for a quantum-ready world that ensures trust and resilience in every transaction."
90-day action checklist
- Run an AI value sprint: one frontline use case, one control-room use case, each with baselined KPIs and risk gates.
- Stand up a tokenisation sandbox: atomic DvP/PvP with clear compliance logging and treasury integration assumptions.
- Kick off a crypto inventory and crypto-agility plan with board visibility and vendor attestations.
- Pilot inclusion metrics: track usage, repayment, and fraud outcomes for targeted customer segments.
- Map talent gaps and training paths for AI, digital assets, and post-quantum security.
Where to learn more
- Monetary Authority of Singapore
- BIS CBDC resources
- Curated AI tools for finance (Complete AI Training)
SFF 2025 positions finance for the next decade: AI with guardrails, tokenised rails with real settlement benefits, and security ready for a quantum future. The through-line is trust, interoperability, and inclusion-with a clear bias for working solutions over hype.
Your membership also unlocks:
