Years ago, it was relentless daily work for Alice Liu, then Managing Director at the China Minsheng Bank in Hong Kong. In 2019, Alice moved on from her corporate life and embarked on an Executive MBA (Chinese) programme at the National University of Singapore (NUS). This move would lead her to exciting adventures in FinTech, where she is now the Chief Executive Officer of FinTech firm Digital Treasures Centre.
Looking back, Singapore seemed like the perfect location for further studies. Singapore is a world-renowned financial hub. It is also a four-hour flight from Hong Kong with an equally vibrant finance sector. On top of this, Alice believes that the “Garden City” is one where everyone, locals and foreigners alike, can find a sense of belonging.
NUS has been one of the top-ranked universities in Asia. The NUS EMBA programme ranked No. 16 worldwide in QS EMBA Rankings 2022 and is known for its holistic curriculum, comprehensive alumni and industry network, and rigorous academic research.
During her two years at NUS, Alice boosted her business knowledge with the theories she learnt. Her goals became clearer, and Alice was inspired to excel in her next endeavour.
A well-established finance professional, Alice Liu decided to gain new perspectives by joining Intake 26 of the NUS EMBA (Chinese) programme.
A FinTech dream come true
For Alice, the Singapore FinTech Festival was life-changing in more than one way. As a participant, Alice took the opportunity to network with people from the FinTech sector and learned about the key initiatives the Singapore government was taking to promote FinTech. She feels Singapore has an inclusive and friendly environment for cryptocurrencies and blockchain. Amazed by these new prospects, Alice decided to venture into the cryptocurrency business.
She discovered that transactions in the current fiat system are constrained by existing infrastructure. To support the next generation of FinTech systems, Alice launched her start-up, Digital Treasures Centre (DTC). DTC aims to reduce costs and settlement times by utilising blockchain and enabling cryptocurrencies as a payment method.
Twenty-eight months after its inception, DTC obtained in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to offer digital payment token (DPT) services. It was one of the 11 DPT service providers in the past two years that had obtained business licences or in-principle approvals from MAS.
In August 2022, DTC was granted a Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence to provide regulated payment services regardless of the transactional volume or e-money held. It now offers varied services such as account issuance, domestic and cross-border money transfer, merchant acquisition, e-money issuance and digital payment tokens. Overall, DTC has seen successes in developing its presence and is set to deliver its mission and vision in the coming years.
Alice's journey with the NUS EMBA community has been fruitful.
Every ending is a new beginning
Alice graduated, with sharper problem-solving skills and the confidence to overcome the ever-changing business environment. As an advocate of lifelong learning, Alice emphasised that learning does not stop at graduation, and she will continue to embark on a journey of learning and discovery.
“I have become a stronger person and connected with many excellent people worldwide,” Alice said proudly.
Studying at NUS has changed Alice’s life incredibly. Graduation does not mean the end. Instead, it signals another new beginning.
