‘Not financial advice’: How new content creation guidelines could shake up Singapore’s finfluencing landscape

Some financial institutions can be “very aggressive” about trying to get content creators to promote their products, and not all of them would agree to a post that highlights the downsides of their product, said Ms Cher, who has been running her personal finance blog for the last 11 years.

She cited how “buy now, pay later” marketing campaigns in Singapore were promoted by influencers, who highlighted ways to save money using vouchers that were up for grabs.

“No one talked about the debts, the interest, what happens if you miss your payments … To be fair, some of those things were also not as transparent, and for people who don’t really bother to read the product properly, they may not understand,” said Ms Cher.

In 2022, regulators in Singapore stepped in with a buy now, pay later code of conduct to mitigate the risk of debt accumulation and protect the interests of users. But by then, the damage had been done, she added.

For creators not in the financial content space, the new framework gives them more to think about before they accept paid collaborations, said Ms Cher.

For example, lifestyle influencers might not even have known that they could check MAS’ investor alert list.

“The advertisers may not always offer this information to them. The brief will always talk about the pros and the benefits, but no one’s going to tell you things like … it’s not MAS-licensed.”

The unregulated Octa trading platform – which was eventually blocked – was featured in one episode of the popular Daily Ketchup podcast.

The episode was sponsored by Octa, but Mr Johnathan Chua, CEO of GRVTY Media, which manages the Daily Ketchup, said they “were careful not to endorse or provide investment advice”.

“For our show, our team maintains full independence, and sponsorships don’t influence the topics or opinions discussed on the show,” he said. “When it comes to financial services, we apply extra caution and ensure that what goes out is explicitly presented as an ad.” 

Mr Chua said the Daily Ketchup no longer works with companies on the MAS investor alert list.

With the new guidelines, he said the show will refine its approach to sponsorships by conducting mandatory checks against the MAS list; adding stricter disclaimers and disclosures so listeners know the difference between editorial and ad content; and providing extra training to commercial teams to better understand the regulatory environment.