Monetary Authority of Singapore Launches COSMIC to Support Information Sharing

The Monetary Authority Singapore has announced the launch of COSMIC. The latter is a centralized digital platform looking to help financial institutions share customer information to address the risks of money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing.

The MAS said that the Financial Services and Markets (Amendment) Act 2023 supports this customer sharing. The act sets out the legal basis for the decision taken by the MAS.

Singapore Regulator Unveils Digital Platform to Tackle Money Laundering

The amended FSMA Act set out the legislative framework for the COSMIC digital platform. According to the MAS, anyone who participates in this digital platform might share customer information with another participant if the profile and the behavior of that customer have some indicators of suspicion of malicious activity.

The FSMA also mandates that a participant have policies in place and operational skills needed to safeguard the confidentiality of information. The initiative will guarantee that the participants can share information regarding potential criminal behavior while protecting the interest of customers whose operations are legitimate.

The MAS is also urging customers to be willing to participate in this initiative. As such, the banking regulator has said that customers should be forthcoming with sharing information and issue timely responses whenever they are required by financial institutions.

The information provided by customers seeks to offer clarification about their risk profiles and the transactions conducted. The initiative will guarantee that financial institutions will be well-incentivized to make informed risk assessments.

Commercial Banks Participate in Launching This Digital Platform

The COSMIC digital platform was created by MAS alongside six of the leading commercial banks in Singapore. The banks involved include Citibank, DBS, UOB, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC.

The involved banks will be the financial institutions that will share customer information through the COSMIC platform during the initial phase.

Those that are sharing information will have to do so voluntarily. The process of sharing information will also revolve around three major financial crime risks gripping the commercial banking industry including the misuse of legal persons, proliferation financing, and the misuse of trade finance for illicit purposes.

While commenting on the launch of this new platform, the Assistant Managing Director at MAS, Ms. Loo Siew Yee, opined that COSMIC will allow financial institutions to warn other participants about suspicious activities. The information access will help these institutions make informed decisions when assessing risk.

“It complements the industry’s existing close collaboration with MAS and law enforcement authorities to combat financial crime,” Siew said. “This will strengthen Singapore’s capabilities to uphold our reputation as a well-regulated and trusted financial center.”