Remarks by Dr Tan See Leng, Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry, at the Launch Of Mastercard Asia Pacific Innovation Centre of Excellence in Singapore

Merit Janow, Board Chairperson of Mastercard,

Ambassador Jon Huntsman,

Vice Chairman and President, Mastercard Strategic Growth,

Richard Wormald, President, Asia Pacific,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Good evening. I am delighted to join you for the launch of Mastercard’s Asia Pacific Innovation Centre of Excellence, or ICoE.

2. My congratulations to Mastercard on establishing your first and largest innovation space in Asia Pacific, bringing together the capabilities in AI, cybersecurity, and innovation. This ICoE is another significant milestone in our longstanding partnership, and we are grateful for Mastercard’s continued trust and confidence in Singapore as a hub for digital innovation.

3. The ICoE comes at an exciting and pivotal time. AI is accelerating and transforming how businesses operate, how consumers transact, and how value is created. Agentic AI promises to take us beyond systems that merely assist people, to systems that can act on their behalf. This will open up tremendous opportunities, but also new challenges.

4. Against this backdrop, I would like to highlight three priorities.

Strengthening Collaboration to Drive Trusted Innovation

5. First, innovation must go hand-in-hand with trust. As AI becomes more autonomous, businesses and consumers must have confidence that transactions remain secure, transparent, and accountable.

6. This is where collaboration matters. Mastercard's ICoE brings together banks, merchants, technology companies and governments to develop and test new solutions. By combining expertise in AI, cybersecurity and fraud intelligence, it will help turn emerging technologies into solutions that businesses and consumers can trust.

7. We are already seeing this in action. Earlier this year, Mastercard worked with DBS and UOB to complete its first live authenticated agentic payment transaction in Singapore, in which an AI agent booked a ride to Changi Airport.

8. The ICoE will provide a dedicated platform to take such innovations further — from experimentation to commercial deployment, and eventually, adoption at scale.

9. Ultimately, trust is not simply a safeguard around innovation. Trust is what makes innovation a reality and possible at scale.

Translating AI into Economic Opportunities

10. Second, we must translate AI innovation into tangible economic opportunities. Singapore's digital economy reached S$144.1 billion in 2025, accounting for 19.3% of GDP. We want to build on this momentum by helping businesses harness AI to raise productivity, develop new services and compete globally.

11. Mastercard's investment will contribute to this ambition. By anchoring more AI, cybersecurity and innovation capabilities in Singapore, the ICoE will strengthen our digital ecosystem and create new opportunities for collaboration between global companies and local enterprises.

12. Importantly, it will also create good jobs for Singaporeans. As demand grows for specialised capabilities in AI engineering, data science and cybersecurity, we must equip our people with the skills to seize these opportunities.

13. Mastercard has already recruited more than 100 early-career professionals through its Graduate Development programme in Singapore. I am encouraged that the ICoE will further deepen our local talent pipeline, enabling Singaporeans to grow and develop alongside these new technologies.

14. I would encourage Mastercard to continue to hire and train local talent, including fresh graduates and early-career professionals. Hiring young talent should not be viewed simply as an immediate cost to the business, but an investment in the company’s future capabilities, leadership pipeline and long-term competitiveness. I also want to give a shoutout to our mid-career and mature workers. With their skills and expertise honed and developed over the years of their career, they are a huge force to be reckoned with.

Scaling Innovation from Singapore to the Region

15. Third, we want Singapore to be a launchpad for innovation across Asia and beyond. Southeast Asia is a dynamic and diverse market, with tremendous opportunities for digital commerce. But unlocking its full potential requires solutions that work across different markets, payment systems and regulatory environments.

16. Singapore is well placed to play this role. Our connectivity, trusted regulatory environment and strong innovation ecosystem provide a base for companies to develop, validate and scale new solutions.

17. I hope the ICoE will become a lighthouse for payments innovation in Asia Pacific — where new solutions are developed and proven in Singapore, before being adapted and deployed across ASEAN, India and beyond.

18. In doing so, Mastercard can help shape the next generation of secure, interoperable and inclusive digital commerce, benefiting businesses and consumers across the region.

Conclusion

19. Ladies and gentlemen, the future of digital commerce will be shaped not just by how quickly we innovate, but by how effectively we build trust, create value and bring these innovations to market.

20. Mastercard's new Innovation Centre of Excellence embodies these ambitions. It reinforces Singapore's position as a trusted innovation hub, while creating new opportunities for our businesses and people.

21. I congratulate Mastercard once again on this important milestone, and look forward to deepening our partnership in the years ahead.

22. It is now my pleasure to formally declare the Mastercard Asia Pacific Innovation Centre of Excellence open!