Startups at the Singapore FinTech Festival : Awards

Startups at the Singapore FinTech Festival will compete for more than S$500,000 in prizes on November 18 and 19, 2026. On October 19, MAS named 42 finalists for the Global FinTech Hackcelerator and the FinTech Excellence Awards. The finalists pitch at Demo Day on November 18, and MAS crowns the winners the next evening. So Cointribune reviews who competes, what they build and how founders can meet investors on site.

Singapore FinTech Festival x Cointribune partnership discount: 20% off with code SMP-DISC-20-COINTRIBUNE on every pass. Book your pass on the official registration page.

Which startups pitch at the Singapore FinTech Festival ?

Eighteen startups pitch at the Global FinTech Hackcelerator Demo Day on November 18. They come from India, Singapore, Ireland, the United States, Indonesia and the United Kingdom. Each answers a challenge from a corporate champion. Those champions are GXS Bank, Julius Baer and Zurich Insurance, according to the MAS release of October 19, 2026.

Our first preview of the festival covered the digital euro and Qivalis. This article, however, follows the founders on the other side of the stage.

Challenge	Finalists
GXS Bank: credit and fraud risk modelling	Aadrila, ByteGenie, FinBox, Mulai.com, ResponCibleAI, Smile API
Julius Baer: wealth management for a digitally native generation	EVAA, Humancraft AI, LinqAlpha, NestiFi, Pantheon Research, Zypero Intellect
Zurich Insurance: business risk exposure of SMEs	ComplyStack, Fyntl AI, GapShield AI, Kayna, PROSPERO, RoboInsure Ai

What do the finalists build ?

AI is the common thread. First, EVAA presents Tellerbird, an AI operating system for investment banks and family offices, with human approval for outbound actions. Meanwhile, RoboInsure Ai reads SME insurance policies clause by clause with an AI agent. Humancraft AI offers Praxis, a decision-support tool that gives affluent clients cited and balanced investment views. Smile API verifies identity and keeps a single credit and fraud risk profile up to date. These descriptions come from Fintech News Singapore. Therefore the debate on autonomous software, which we covered in our article on AI agents at the festival, reaches the startup floor too.

The stakes are concrete. Each winner receives SGD 80,000. All finalists also get guidance from senior leaders and curated one-to-one sessions with investors, according to the festival’s Hackcelerator page. Applications closed on August 21, and the in-person programme in Singapore runs from November 11 to 13. Then Demo Day follows on November 18. Kenneth Gay, Chief FinTech Officer at MAS, frames the context:

As the financial sector navigates increasingly complex challenges, there is a need to better harness technology…

Kenneth Gay, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS, press release of October 19, 2026

Who competes for the FinTech Excellence Awards ?

Twenty companies and four mentors are finalists, out of 131 submissions across six categories, according to MAS. Each corporate winner receives SGD 50,000. Three mentors receive SGD 5,000 each. The awards dinner takes place on November 19 and admits guests by invitation only. Five corporate categories cover emerging fintechs, financial inclusion, regulation, sustainability and AI.

Category	Finalists
Emerging FinTech	ContexQ, Weav8, Working Ants, Yuanli Technology Singapore
Financial Inclusivity	Pilon, Paymentology, Payoneer Singapore, TenPay Global
Regulatory Leader	AISG E-Commerce (Project ICY), AML Watcher, FinregE, MetaComp
Sustainable Innovator	Climescape, Copecto, ESGSAT, Kubix Digital Asset
Thematic (AI Champion)	bolttech, Igloo, LinqAlpha, Longbridge AI Technologies
FinTech Mentor Award	Carney Mak, Daniel Han, Naveed Weldon, Ragunandhan Senthil Kumar

LinqAlpha appears in both competitions, as a Hackcelerator finalist and an AI Champion finalist. For digital-asset readers, Kubix Digital Asset is the one finalist whose name points to the sector. However, the lists lean toward AI, payments and compliance. Besides, the Regulatory Leader category shows that startups at the Singapore FinTech Festival also compete on compliance, not only on growth.

How can startups at the Singapore FinTech Festival meet investors ?

Through Investor Hours and SFF MeetUp. Investor Hours bring founders and investors together one-to-one in the Investors Lounge in Hall 2. Investor Hours 2025 gathered more than 500 startups and over 200 investors. They came from 50 markets, according to the festival’s post of October 7, 2026. Sign-ups for 2026 are open.

On November 19, two stage-focused sessions also run in the lounge. First, a happy hour for Series A to C companies starts at 4:00 pm. Then a pre-seed and seed session follows at 5:00 pm. In addition, SFF MeetUp has reopened with up to 30 meetings of 15 minutes each, according to the festival’s website.

Which pass fits startups at the Singapore FinTech Festival ?

It depends on what you want to attend. Demo Day, Investor Hours and the Policy Stage carry the Open label, so most passes work. That is what the festival’s pass guide says. By contrast, the Festival Stage keynotes carry the Premium label. They require a Delegate, Executive or Startup pass.

Pass	Price	Open sessions	Premium sessions
Startup Pass (company incorporated within five years)	SGD 650	Yes	Yes
Delegate Pass	SGD 1,500	Yes	Yes
MeetUp Pass	SGD 380	Yes	No
Trade Visitor Pass	Free	Yes	No

Therefore a founder who only wants meetings can start with the MeetUp Pass. A founder who also wants the keynotes needs the Startup Pass. Either way, the 20% discount applies, so startups at the Singapore FinTech Festival can compare passes after the reduction.

How do you get the Cointribune discount?

Enter the code SMP-DISC-20-COINTRIBUNE on the official registration page to get 20% off. The discount applies to every pass, so you can choose the one that matches your plan.

Two dates frame the competition. November 18 belongs to the Demo Day pitches, and November 19 belongs to the winners. Finally, our article on stablecoins at the festival covers the regulatory block of November 18.