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      Pay It Forward

      At the heart of SFF is a powerful, interconnected community. "Pay It Forward" nurtures the next generation of FinTech leaders through shared knowledge and collaboration.

      • 18–20 November 2026, 1–5pm
      • PIF Lounge, Hall 3, Singapore EXPO
      How to take part Meet the mentors
      Pay It Forward mentoring at SFF

      2026 Pay It Forward Tracks

      • Software Engineering & Building

      • AI & Data

      • Product & Project Management

      • Cybersecurity, Risk & Compliance

      • Marketing, Content & Community

      • Business, Finance & Strategy

      • Entrepreneurship & Startups

      • Public Policy, Government & Social Impact

      • To be announced

      Mentor or Mentee

      • A mentor and a mentee in conversation at SFF

        Applications are now open

        Mentor

        How it works

        1. Register – Register your interest via the form by 12 Oct 2026. You'll be notified of the outcome by 16 October, and successful applicants will have their mentor profile created for the app.
        2. Set Your Availability – Commit at least 2 hours between 1–5pm, 18–20 Nov 2026 at the PIF Lounge (Hall 3).
        3. Meet Mentees – Approve requests in the app; meetings will be scheduled automatically with table assignments.

        Why join

        • Shape the Future
        • Expand Your Influence
        • Lead the Conversation
      • A mentee meeting a mentor at the PIF Lounge

        Mentee

        How it works

        1. Register – Register within the app. Please ensure you have already registered for a SFF pass.
        2. Request Meetings – Submit requests directly through the app by answering a short prompt. Mentors review each request and decide whether to connect based on their availability and fit with the mentee's goals.
        3. Connect & Learn – Meetings are auto-scheduled with table assignments at the PIF Lounge.

        Why join

        • Access Leaders
        • Turn Insights into Action
        • Grow Your Network

      2026 Mentors

      All mentors
      Mrs Bella Lai

      Mrs Bella Lai

      Head of Payments

      FIS Global

      Track Business, Finance & Strategy

      View LinkedIn profile (opens in a new tab)

      Senior commercial leader with 25 years of experience building, scaling, and running FinTech, payments infrastructure, and regulatory tech businesses across APAC. Operating at the intersection of regulatory policy and technical architecture, I specialise in taking new market verticals from zero to $50M+ in revenue by securing complex contracts with central banks and Tier-1 financial institutions. I work where regulatory policy, technical architecture, and commercial execution meet. Known for a hands-on, player-coach leadership style, I thrive when building regional Go-To-Market strategies and driving cross-functional teams to global top-performance rankings.
       
      Core Focus Areas:
      - Modernising Payments Infrastructure: Advising commercial banks on decoupling monolithic core systems and upgrading transaction switches. The goal is practical: handle peak real-time concurrency (PromptPay, InstaPay, QR Ph, Project Nexus) without system downtime or costly "rip-and-replace" migrations.
      - Card Issuing Sovereignty & Unit Economics: Partnering with mature neobanks, digital wallets, and super-apps to transition off third-party BaaS aggregators. Moving to direct scheme connectivity and enterprise cloud issuing lets scaling platforms reclaim their gross margins, cut transaction latency, and launch complex revolving credit or loyalty programmes without costly workarounds.
      - Commercialising ISO 20022 Data: Helping transaction banking teams turn rich messaging mandates from an IT compliance cost into revenue-generating corporate treasury, cash forecasting, and liquidity tools.
      - Embedded Risk & Transaction Defence: Integrating behavioural AI fraud monitoring directly into the switch layer to protect against rising Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams and evolving regulatory liability before settlement occurs.
      - Deep Governance & RegTech Foundation: 25-year track record across AML/CFT, KYC/KYB identity frameworks, and entity risk intelligence across major Asian jurisdictions.

      Core Expertise:
      • Commercial Leadership: Regional P&L Management, Market Expansion, Multi-Year Enterprise RFPs, BOPaaS / Managed Services, Strategic Alliances
      • Payments & Infrastructure: Enterprise Payment Hubs (EPH), Real-Time Rails, Cloud-Native Issuing, Switch Decoupling, Cross-Border Clearing
      • Regulatory Architecture: Central Bank Procurement, Computational Law, Financial Crime Risk Intelligence, ISO 20022 Data Enrichment
      Always keen to connect with banking leaders, FinTech founders, conference organisers, and ecosystem peers shaping financial infrastructure across Asia.