Eight complaints made against 'finfluencers' in 2025 so far, says MAS
Over the past five years, the Monetary Authority of Singapore received an average of five complaints per year.
The logo of the Monetary Authority of Singapore is pictured at its building on Feb 21, 2013. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
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SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has received eight complaints against financial influencers so far this year, compared with an average of five complaints per year in the last five years.
Most of the eight complaints were because of comments made by two "finfluencers" who posted about why they were withdrawing their money from an investment platform, said Mr Alvin Tan, a board member of MAS and Minister of State for Trade and Industry.
Mr Tan was responding to a question in parliament about developments leading to a temporary suspension of immediate fund withdrawals on a financial services platform in March this year.
Chocolate Finance said on Mar 10 that it was experiencing high demand for withdrawals and halted the instant option temporarily.
CNA reported at that time that personal finance influencer Seth Wee, also known as Sethisfy, had uploaded a YouTube video the day before about why he decided to withdraw all his money from Chocolate Finance.
Mr Tan said finfluencers help create awareness of products and services offered by financial institution and some promote financial literacy.
"However, they must do so responsibly and must not veer into providing financial advice, which is a regulated activity," he said.
Mr Tan added that MAS responded to this year's eight complaints and there are no outstanding issues related to the complaints.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) received eight complaints against financial influencers or 'finfluencers' in the first quarter of 2025. Most were related to comments made by two finfluencers who shared their reasons for liquidating their investments from an investment platform. The figure is an increase from the average of five complaints a year in the past five years and MAS is monitoring this closely, said MAS Board Member Alvin Tan. In parliament on Tuesday (Apr 8), Mr Tan said finfluencers must be responsible when creating awareness of financial products and services and cannot provide financial advice, which is a regulated activity. They also must not make false or misleading statements on any capital market products. He was replying to MPs' questions.
MAS REVIEWING CASE
He also responded to two questions on protecting retail investors and encouraging financial companies to be responsible when marketing their products.
He referred to a "recent incident" involving an investment platform that offered instant withdrawals up to a certain amount and allowed customers to spend on a debit card that was linked to their investments.
Chocolate Finance previously offered instant withdrawals of up to S$20,000 (US$15,000) per day and launched a debit card in February this year. Transactions on the debit card were also paused last month before resuming with a S$250 limit per transaction.
The conditions and limitations were disclosed in the product terms and conditions but may not have been effective in giving customers a full understanding, said Mr Tan.
Product features do not necessarily require regulatory approval, but there are requirements for robust risk management and clear disclosures, he said.
"MAS is reviewing this particular case against these requirements, as well as more generally how to ensure investment platforms implement these requirements effectively," he said.
Mr Tan also said platforms that hold a Capital Markets Services license are required to keep customers' assets separate from the company's as a way to protect customers' monies.
"The recent incident involving a surge in withdrawals from an investment platform illustrate that the safeguards worked as intended," he said.
Customers' assets were properly segregated and requests for withdrawals were redeemed in an orderly manner, within three to six working days.
Mr Tan said customers should fully understand the features and risks of a financial product before investing in it. They can also seek professional financial advice for clarity.
Capital Markets Services Licensees offer portfolios which are invested into funds managed by other licensed funds management companies. These investment platforms are required by regulation to keep customers’ assets legally separate. The recent incident involving a surge in withdrawals from an investment platform illustrates that the safeguards worked as customers' assets were properly segregated from the platform and requests for withdrawals were redeemed in an orderly manner within the standard fund redemption timeframe of three to six working days. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Board Member Alvin Tan highlighted this in reply to parliamentary questions on Tuesday (Apr 8). He pointed out that there are regulatory requirements for robust risk management and clear disclosures. Mr Tan said MAS is reviewing this particular case against these requirements, as well as ensuring that investment platforms implement them effectively.
