Eight complaints against ‘finfluencers’ lodged with MAS in 2025: Alvin Tan

Eight complaints against financial influencers, or “finfluencers”, were made to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2025, up from an average of five complaints per year in the last five years.

The majority of the 2025 complaints stemmed from comments made by two influencers who shared their reasons for liquidating their investments on a financial platform, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan said in Parliament on April 8.

His comments come after financial services platform Chocolate Finance halted instant withdrawals on March 10. The Straits Times understands this was triggered by two finfluencers who posted online about plans to withdraw their funds.

Mr Tan, who is also a board member of the MAS, noted that finfluencers help create awareness of products and services offered by financial institutions, and some play a role in financial literacy.

But they must do so responsibly, and must not veer into providing financial advice, which is a regulated activity, he said.

Mr Tan was responding to questions in Parliament from Workers’ Party MP He Ting Ru (Sengkang GRC) and Mr Saktiandi Supaat (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), as well as Nominated MP Mark Lee, about the recent suspension of withdrawals by a financial platform.

Chocolate Finance, which operates under private company ChocFin, is licensed as a fund management service provider by MAS.

The firm suspended instant withdrawals on March 10 because of high demand, adding that the pause was “not a liquidity issue, but a matter of managing our increased transaction volume”.

It also imposed a $250 limit on its Chocolate Visa debit card on March 11 to manage its “liquidity programme”, before raising the cap to $1,000 on March 14.

On March 21, Chocolate Finance announced that it paid out all withdrawal requests made between March 10 and March 18.

Customers received 100 per cent of their capital and all earned returns, it noted, adding that withdrawal requests continue to be processed in an “orderly fashion”, in line with the “standard three to six business days’ processing time”.

Previously, withdrawals of up to $20,000 – or multiple withdrawals totalling that amount in a single day – were paid out instantly. Amounts above $20,000 were processed within three to 10 business days.

Mr Tan noted that the “conditions and limitations” of these features, including the ability of the financial platform to vary or stop these features, were disclosed, but these disclosures may not have been effective in providing customers with a full understanding of the product.

“While product features do not always require regulatory approval, there are regulatory requirements in place for robust risk management and clear disclosures, especially when they impact a firm’s operations,” he said, adding that MAS is reviewing the case against these requirements and how to ensure investment platforms implement these requirements effectively.

Mr Tan also urged users of financial products to fully understand the features, including key terms and conditions and risks, of a financial product before deciding to invest.

“Customers should also seek professional financial advice on the suitability of a product if they are unclear,” he added.

A Business Times article on April 3 said that fintech platforms have been told by MAS to clearly communicate underlying products in their investment accounts.

An MAS spokesperson declined to comment on the article, telling ST on April 3 that the central bank interacts with financial institutions regularly as part of their “supervisory engagements”.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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