The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cybersecurity Cooperation and Digital Fraud Protection, formalising years of informal collaboration between the two regulators. The agreement was signed during the 31st EMEAP Central Banks Governors’ Meeting in Singapore and covers information sharing, joint training, and cross-border crisis exercises.
Key Facts At A Glance
- Agreement type: Memorandum of Understanding on Cybersecurity Cooperation and Digital Fraud Protection
- Signatories: MAS Managing Director Chia Der Jiun and BOT Governor Vitai Ratanakorn
- Signing context: 31st Executives’ Meeting of East Asia-Pacific (EMEAP) Central Banks Governors’ Meeting, held in Singapore
- Meeting dates: 22 to 24 July 2026
- Three cooperation pillars: information sharing, competency-building, operational preparedness
- Information sharing covers regulatory updates, incident notifications, and threat intelligence
- Competency-building includes joint staff training, study visits, and exchange of research and policy insights
- Operational preparedness includes joint cross-border cybersecurity and crisis management exercises
A Formal Upgrade To Existing Ties
MAS and BOT have worked together informally on cyber and fraud issues for some time. The new MoU puts a structured framework around that cooperation rather than establishing an entirely new relationship. Both regulators describe the move as a response to the growing sophistication of cyber threats and digital fraud schemes across an increasingly interconnected regional financial system.
The signing took place alongside the 31st EMEAP Governors’ Meeting, hosted by MAS in Singapore. EMEAP is a cooperative forum of eleven central banks and monetary authorities across East Asia and the Pacific, including the Reserve Bank of Australia, the People’s Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Bank Indonesia, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Korea, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, alongside MAS and BOT. The governors’ meeting itself, chaired by Chia Der Jiun, covered macroeconomic conditions across EMEAP economies and the risks that artificial intelligence poses to regional financial systems. Bank Indonesia is set to chair and host the 32nd EMEAP Governors’ Meeting in 2027.
What The MoU Covers
The agreement is built around three pillars. Under information sharing, MAS and BOT will exchange regulatory updates, incident notifications, and threat intelligence relevant to their financial sectors. Under competency-building, the two regulators plan joint staff training, study visits, and an exchange of research and policy insights. Under operational preparedness, MAS and BOT will run joint cross-border cybersecurity and crisis management exercises intended to improve readiness for large-scale incidents affecting both markets.
Neither regulator’s public statements included a specific timeline for when the individual work streams under the MoU, such as the first joint exercises, will begin. Publicly available information on implementation milestones remains limited at this stage.