Visa's new partnership to develop FinTech talent in Singapore

With an increased prominence of fintech in Singapore, demand for locals with the relevant knowledge and skills have gone up. In order to nurture future talent in the industry, Visa today announced a partnership with local polytechnics and Singapore FinTech Association.

According to a press statement, as part of this partnership, students from the five polytechnics in Singapore will have the opportunity to engage with payment experts from the global payments technology company.

Students will also be able to visit the Visa Innovation Lab, where they can learn about the future of payments and the challenges in the payments landscape. Additionally, to allow interactive learning, a number of Visa employees will be assigned as mentors.

Modules related to fintech and the payments industry will be conducted at Visa University, and students will participate in a business case challenge to round up their learnings.

Visa stated that the joint initiative aims to build a steady pipeline of talent in the fintech space to cope with this demand and provide a gateway for students to make their first foray into the industry.

The partnership is also in line with Singapore’s SkillsFuture and STEM movement, aimed at equipping Singaporeans with the necessary skillsets for the digital economy.

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Ooi Huey Tyng, country manager for Singapore and Brunei at Visa said: "We have reached out to various schools in the Polytechnics such as School of InfoComm Technology, which are predominantly male-centric to increase female representation in this industry.

"Through this initiative, students will attend learning sessions conducted by Visa representatives and be involved in business case challenges. We hope to inspire our young talent to join this exciting community," she added.

This initiative was introduced after the polytechnics, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Singapore FinTech Association in February this year.

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"We are encouraged by Visa’s support of our strategic efforts to nurture home-grown talents in fintech." commented Hock Lai Chia, president, Singapore FinTech Association.

"The Innovation Lab visits help students to experience technology in real-life use cases, improving the delivery of financial products and services. The mentorship provided by the payment practitioners from Visa will be invaluable to the students in their pursuit of fintech skillsets."

Photo / 123RF