SINGAPORE: Financial institutions will soon be expected to market financial products and services only within designated areas at commercial premises, along with other enhanced safeguards for public prospecting activities, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Monday (Oct 12).
Public prospecting activities include roadshows in public places where representatives from financial institutions promote financial products and services to members of the public.
Such sales activities are allowed in venues where financial institutions can rent or get permission to hold marketing and distribution events. These include exhibition halls, corporate conference rooms and common spaces within commercial buildings, and exclude pedestrian walkways and areas, as well as residential spaces.
Under the tighter guidelines, representatives should clearly inform consumers at the start that they intend to promote financial products or services and get consent before proceeding, MAS said.
Financial institutions should also appoint suitably qualified individuals to monitor their representatives' conduct at such events, it added.
MAS said it will issue the updated guidelines in 2027 and that financial institutions will be given a nine-month transition period to implement the enhanced safeguards.
These enhanced safeguards were first proposed in a 2023 public consultation to improve standards of conduct in public prospecting activities.
MAS noted that when conducted inappropriately, such activities may lead to concerns about conduct when people are subjected to "unsolicited or persistent solicitation".
In its public consultation report, MAS added that it receives consumer complaints that representatives are "not forthcoming" about their identities and intentions when engaging consumers in public places.
"While MAS will not require financial institutions to document consumers’ verbal consent, financial institutions should have appropriate mechanisms to check that their representatives obtain such consent," said MAS.
It added that pre-registration for an event may constitute consent from the consumer if it was made clear that financial products or services will be marketed at the event.
In addition, MAS will require financial institutions to enact policies and procedures to determine an "appropriate amount of space needed to provide a conducive setting for marketing and distribution events" and restrict public prospecting activities to within a 5m radius of the demarcated event space.
At the same time, street canvassing and door-to-door prospecting will remain prohibited as they are "not conducive methods of customer engagement, as these activities are often unsolicited and unexpected".
"Consumers should not feel pressured or caught off guard when approached about financial products and services," said MAS assistant managing director of capital markets Lim Tuang Lee.
"These enhanced safeguards strengthen standards of conduct for public prospecting activities, helping to ensure that consumers are treated fairly and professionally while allowing financial institutions to continue engaging consumers through appropriate channels."
OTHER PROPOSALS MAS DID NOT PROCEED WITH
In its report, MAS documented the other proposals it is not proceeding with and the reasons why.
This includes a proposal to give customers "adequate time" to make informed purchase decisions. MAS noted that the current free-look and cancellation periods already allow consumers to cancel their purchase without penalty if they want to reconsider.
MAS also said it will not prohibit gift offers as it acknowledged that customers are used to receiving information on gifts and promotional offers from financial institutions during marketing and distribution events.
It noted that financial institutions are currently required to ensure that details of gifts offered to customers are not displayed or promoted in a way that "inappropriately" influences their purchase decisions.
"MAS will focus on ensuring that financial institutions have appropriate governance frameworks to manage the responsible offering of such benefits."