Will AI Replace Finance Jobs in Singapore? Here’s What to Do in 2025

Singapore's finance professionals should pay attention to AI in 2025 because adoption is already mainstream - IMDA found three in four workers now use AI regularly and 85% report time saved and higher-quality work - so this is less a distant threat and more an immediate productivity game-changer that reshapes risk, compliance and client service.

National programmes are keeping the shift people‑first: IMDA's push to build an AI‑fluent workforce and TeSA upskilling aim to free accountants and analysts from rote tasks so they can focus on judgement and model oversight (IMDA AI‑fluent workforce plan), while new routes like the Skills Pathway for Cloud link cloud skills to AI roles employers are hiring for (Skills Pathway for Cloud training initiative).

For hands‑on, workplace-ready skills, a focused 15‑week option teaches promptcraft and practical AI use cases so finance teams can safely boost productivity without heavy coding.

The upshot: learn to use and audit AI now, or watch higher-value work slip to teams who do.

Bootcamp	Key details
AI Essentials for Work	15 weeks; learn AI tools, prompt writing, practical on‑the‑job skills; early bird $3,582; registration: Register for AI Essentials for Work (Nucamp)

This people-first strategy will secure future-ready jobs and keep Singapore competitive in the AI-driven economy.

AI is no longer a distant promise for Singapore's finance sector - it's already reshaping the daily grind, especially in KYC and onboarding where delays are bleeding clients: Fenergo's research found 87% of Singapore banks lost customers to slow onboarding, turning what used to be a back‑office headache into a boardroom emergency (Fenergo research: Singapore banks losing clients due to KYC failures and onboarding delays).

Yet full automation remains rare - only about 1–4% of banks report they've automated the majority of KYC workflows - which helps explain the surge in interest in AI tools to speed decisions and clean messy data (38–42% aim to boost efficiency; ~30–40% target data accuracy).

The next wave is agentic AI: a small share (6%) are already running it, but 93% plan rollout in the next two years, with fraud detection, KYC maintenance and transaction monitoring top of the list and many firms eyeing seven‑figure compliance savings (Fenergo survey on agentic AI adoption and forecasted compliance savings).

The net effect for finance professionals in Singapore is clear - routine, data‑heavy tasks will shift to AI, leaving human judgment, model oversight and client experience as the high‑value work that remains.

Metric	Figure / Source
Banks in Singapore reporting client loss from KYC	87% (Fenergo)
Banks with majority KYC automated	~1–4% (Fenergo)
Banks planning AI for efficiency / data accuracy	38–42% / 30–40% (Fenergo)
Agentic AI adoption outlook (2025)	6% implemented; 93% plan; 26% forecast >$4M savings (Fenergo)

“It's no coincidence that the spike in banks losing clients because of burdensome KYC and onboarding closely follows one of the biggest money laundering scandals in Singapore's history. Banks are now required to double down on client due diligence to better understand client risk as part of the country's clamp down on AML. The extra scrutiny and a wide scale dependence on manual processes is having an immediate and negative impact on the client and the bank's bottom line.” - Cengiz Kiamil, Managing Director, Fenergo

Singapore's response to AI is deliberately people‑first: IMDA is scaling a national push to make three in four workers AI‑fluent and to prioritise upskilling so automation raises productivity rather than displaces people, while TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) broadens its scope to train both technical specialists and non‑tech professionals like accountants to use AI safely in daily workflows (IMDA press release on the AI‑fluent workforce).

That effort ties into industry-led pathways - including the new Skills Pathway for Cloud and employer programmes - which treat cloud skills as the practical base for AI at scale and deliberately create “bilingual AI” talent who pair domain expertise with cloud/AI capabilities (Skills Pathway for Cloud overview).

Practical routes such as the AWS Career Launchpad (structured 6–12 month place‑and‑train for ~100 participants) and TeSA's long record - having upskilled hundreds of thousands and placed local talent into tech jobs - mean finance teams can expect certified, workplace‑ready options to reskill fast rather than rely on ad hoc training.

Programme / Metric	Key detail (source)
Workers using AI	~3 in 4; 85% report improved productivity (IMDA)
TeSA upskilled since 2016	More than 340,000 individuals (IMDA)
TeSA job placements	21,000+ locals placed into tech jobs (IMDA)
AWS Career Launchpad	Place‑and‑train for ~100 individuals; 6–12 months (IMDA)

“From the first skills pathway for cybersecurity to our current extension, we have been able to directly engage employers, industry leaders, government agencies and training providers.” - Edward Chen, SCS Skills Pathway Chair

Singapore's workers and employers are caught between cautious optimism and real uncertainty: ADP's People at Work 2025 Report finds 19% of Singapore employees don't know how AI will change their jobs next year, while 16% expect positive impacts and 11% worry AI could replace them - a mix that's especially sharp among knowledge workers (26% uncertain) and younger staff (23% for ages 18–26), who are far more likely to feel the ground shifting beneath their careers (nearly three times the uncertainty of repetitive-role workers).

Employers and C‑suite leaders meanwhile are racing to scale AI - EY's Responsible AI Pulse shows virtually all Singapore execs report integrating AI initiatives, yet only about 53% say they have moderate to strong governance, and 90% are planning agentic AI use - so the result is an uneven transition where talent worries coexist with executive ambition.

For pragmatic next steps, clear communication, targeted upskilling and stronger governance bridge the gap between promise and peril (see ADP's market view and EY's governance findings for detail).

Metric	Figure / Source
Workers uncertain about AI's impact	19% (ADP People at Work 2025)
Workers who expect positive impact	16% (ADP)
Workers fearing job replacement	11% (ADP)
Knowledge workers uncertain	26% (ADP)
Younger workers (18–26) uncertain	23% (ADP)
C-suite: AI integrated / active	100% report integration or active initiatives (EY Responsible AI Pulse)
C-suite: moderate–strong AI controls	53% (EY)
C-suite planning agentic AI	90% using/planning agentic AI (EY)

"AI is reshaping how Singapore's workforce sees the future. While many recognise AI's productivity benefits, the uncertainty about its long-term impact on careers remains. It is important for employers to clearly communicate AI strategies, invest in upskilling, and foster employees with the right mindsets so they can confidently navigate – and thrive in – an AI-driven future.” - Yvonne Teo, Vice President of HR, APAC, ADP

In Singapore's finance sector, the clearest risks aren't to senior advisors but to routine, data‑heavy and low‑margin work: low‑wage and migrant workers - who fill about one in three low‑wage service jobs - are especially exposed as automation and robotics expand (Singapore already has roughly 730 industrial robots per 10,000 employees), while back‑office processing, repetitive document handling and some legacy‑system maintenance face sharp pressure from digital cores and AI automation; see the CSIS analysis for context (CSIS analysis of migrant-worker automation vulnerability in Singapore).

At the same time, banks are repositioning roles rather than simply cutting them: industry forecasts suggest GenAI will reshape as many as 75–80% of banking jobs into more relationship‑and‑judgement‑focused work, and large collaborations - like UOB's MoU with Accenture - explicitly tie AI rollout to employee upskilling and reskilling so staff move into model oversight, product design and customer personalisation (UOB and Accenture GenAI collaboration and employee retraining announcement); banks modernising cores with digital twin tech also signal a shift: fewer hands on tangled legacy code, more roles in cloud, data and AI governance (Accenture digital twin technology for bank core modernization).

The practical takeaway for Singapore finance workers: prioritise transferable skills - AI literacy, cloud fluency, compliance and client empathy - so careers evolve instead of evaporating.

“Banking is still going to be about relationships, trust and deposits. Gen AI will rewire how nearly every job in banking is run.” - Michael Abbott, global banking lead at Accenture

Practical upskilling for Singapore finance professionals should start small and stack logically: begin with a short, executive-friendly foundation like CFTE's 4‑week AI Literacy for Professionals to build core concepts, prompting skills and a portfolio-ready project (CFTE AI Literacy for Professionals course), then lock in an industry‑recognised credential such as the IBF‑accredited Artificial Intelligence in Finance Specialisation (eligible for up to 70% subsidies, with nett fees quoted as low as SGD 270) to show employers a verified skillset and workplace use cases (IBF-accredited AI in Finance Specialisation course).

After that, pick hands‑on options tailored to job needs: NUS's Generative AI in Finance for prompt design and governance, short intensive courses at SUSS or Temasek Polytechnic for deployment and compliance, or a 5‑day NTU programme for practical AI/analytics and basic Python for modelling.

Wherever possible, use IBF, SkillsFuture or employer sponsorships, prioritise courses with portfolio outcomes or accredited certificates, and layer a targeted specialist (e.g., generative AI, model governance or agentic‑AI oversight) within six months so judgement, audit and client‑facing skills stay at the centre of any automation shift (Generative AI in Finance course - NUS AIDF).

Programme	Duration / Key detail
CFTE - AI Literacy for Professionals	4 weeks; portfolio projects; executive certification
CFTE - AI in Finance Specialisation (IBF)	Self‑paced; 12 hours across 4 courses; IBF accredited; eligible for up to 70% subsidy (nett fee example SGD 270)
NUS - Generative AI in Finance (AIDF)	12 hours; focus on prompt design, governance; fee SGD 1,722.20
NTU - AI & Analytics for Business Valuation and Finance	5 days; hands‑on analytics, Python; funding support 50–70% depending on eligibility
SUSS - Generative AI in Finance	2 days; SkillsFuture funded; mid‑career subsidies up to 90% for eligible Singaporeans
Temasek Polytechnic - Generative AI for Accounting & Finance	2 days; TP Certificate; hands‑on projects (ChatGPT Plus recommended)

Repositioning a finance career in Singapore in 2025 means a pragmatic mix of defence and upgrade: treat short‑term volatility - illustrated by DBS's announcement to cut around 4,000 contract roles - as a signal to move from repetitive middle‑office tasks into AI‑adjacent, front‑office or governance work rather than waiting for disruption to choose for you (see reporting on DBS's plans).

Practical pivots that are already hiring include cloud and data roles, AI product and model oversight, and new “prompt‑plus” craft roles like prompt engineering or human‑AI interaction design; graduates and employers alike rate AI skills as a competitive edge, so stack an accredited AI/finance credential with demonstrable portfolio projects to land those openings quickly.

For immediate job search tactics, target listings in established hubs (Marina Bay and central business districts), be open to contract-to-perm moves, and use government subsidies and place‑and‑train pathways to shave months off reskilling time - start by scanning local strategy and jobs roundups to match concrete openings with accredited courses and employer upskilling promises (Singapore Jobs Strategy 2025 workforce resilience report, The Asian Banker report on DBS cutting 4,000 contract roles).

Location	Position	Salary
Beach Road	Assistant Manager (Service Office, 5-day)	$3,000–$3,700
Loyang	Sales Executive (Labels)	$3,200–$3,400
Marina Bay Financial Centre	Business Development Manager	$3,500–$4,500

“Our survey shows that Singapore students and graduates are both confident and forward-looking. They are actively building skillsets required to thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape, particularly around AI and finance.” - Simon Ng, CFA, President of CFA Society Singapore

Target jobs with laser focus and treat AI in hiring as both a gatekeeper and an assistant: scan local listings (for example, Marina Bay and Beach Road openings in Mavenside's jobs roundup) and tailor each CV to the role's measurable outcomes rather than generic buzzwords - ATS and resume‑scoring platforms now use explainable models and custom rubrics, so mirror the job language and supply short, verifiable metrics that explainable AI can surface (see impress.ai's 2025 trends on resume scoring).

Use generative AI to draft role‑specific bullets and formatting, but edit ruthlessly to avoid the cookie‑cutter tone recruiters spot and to prevent hallucinated claims (Randstad's guide warns that recruiters can often tell overly generic AI text).

Add multimodal evidence where possible: a one‑page portfolio link, assessment results or a short case study that hiring platforms can ingest. Highlight soft skills employers prize in 2025 - critical thinking, proactiveness and client empathy - with concrete examples.

Finally, be audit‑ready: CV screening has regulatory and fairness risks in finance, so document consent and be prepared to explain automated evidence if asked (see AIQURIS on CV screening risks).

Location	Type	Salary	Position	Action
Beach Road	Permanent	$3,000 - $3,700	Assistant Manager (Service Office, 5-day)	Apply
Loyang	Permanent	$3,200 - $3,400	Sales Executive (Labels)	Apply
Marina Bay Financial Centre	Permanent	$3,500 - $4,500	Business Development Manager	Apply

“AI is like a tireless co-worker. ‘It can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It just needs data. And data is not oil, it is blood.'” - Mohit Sagar, OpenGov Breakfast Insight

For Singapore finance teams evaluating automation, start by watching vendors that turn invoice chaos into predictable cash-flow - Esker's accounts-payable platform is a clear example, offering AI-driven data capture, touchless processing, ERP connectors and mobile approvals that helped Pet Lovers Centre process 8,000 monthly invoices 70% faster (Esker accounts payable automation platform; see the local case study).

That kind of P2P acceleration is the practical win CXOs and treasury teams care about: faster closes, cleaner audit trails and fewer manual exceptions. Pair platform plays with model-level tools and craft skills - bias-aware underwriting engines like Zest AI bias-aware credit scoring for responsible lending and prompt-engineering practices for board-ready outputs (Top AI prompts for finance professionals in 2025) - so teams can deploy automation without sacrificing explainability or control.

Vendor / Tool	Use case	Evidence / Result
Esker	Accounts payable automation, AI data capture, ERP integration	70% faster invoice processing; improved visibility (Pet Lovers Centre case)
Pet Lovers Centre (case)	P2P transformation	8,000 monthly invoices; automated AP with Esker
Zest AI	Bias-aware underwriting, real-time scoring	Recommended for safe lending and explainability (tool mention)

“Esker's AI-based recognition has significantly reduced manual work. We can now focus on improving other factors within our department rather than handling manual work. The interface is very user friendly and easy for new employees to use right off the bat, which has helped us save time in new hire trainings.” - Wynona Ho, Accounts Payable Manager

Six months is enough to move from worried to work-ready: month 1 audit your role and prioritise tasks that are routine and data‑heavy, then in months 1–2 complete a compact, industry‑recognised foundation like the IBF‑accredited CFTE “AI in Finance Specialisation” (self‑paced 12 hours; eligible for subsidies - payment after subsidy examples from SGD 270) to lock in AI literacy and a certificate (CFTE AI in Finance Specialisation (IBF‑accredited, Singapore)); months 2–3 add a focused generative‑AI module for prompt design, governance and MAS FEAT alignment via NUS's “Generative AI in Finance” (12 hours) to learn promptcraft and responsible use (NUS Generative AI in Finance course (MAS FEAT‑aligned)); month 4 take a hands‑on bootcamp such as NTU's 5‑day AI & Analytics for Business Valuation to build basic Python models and apply agentic‑AI case studies in fraud, KYC and forecasting (NTU AI & Analytics for Business Valuation (5‑day program)).

Months 5–6: produce a one‑page portfolio project (for example, a board‑ready 13‑week liquidity reforecast), ask your employer for place‑and‑train or use IBF/SkillsFuture funding, and join local events to network and show results - that practical loop (learn → apply → evidence) is the fastest guarantee that AI upgrades, rather than replaces, your role.

Month	Action
1	Skills audit; enrol CFTE IBF‑accredited AI in Finance (12 hrs)
2–3	Complete NUS Generative AI in Finance (prompt design, governance)
4	NTU 5‑day hands‑on AI & Analytics (Python, use cases)
5	Build portfolio project (e.g., 13‑week liquidity reforecast)
6	Seek employer sponsorship/place‑and‑train, claim IBF/SkillsFuture, attend local events

"The content was really relevant. I really liked that it gave a lot of examples on how AI can be applied in the industry, the companies that are successful implementing AI as well as high level view on what AI is really about." - Magdalene Loh, Senior Vice President and Head of Innovation at Prudential Singapore

Conclusion: Singapore's finance workforce is not facing an inevitability of mass unemployment but a fast-moving pivot - GenAI will reshape 75–80% of banking jobs into more judgement‑and‑relationship work, not disappear them, so the practical response is to audit your role, protect client‑facing and governance skills, and stack short, employer‑aligned training that proves impact (think faster KYC, cleaner forecasts and board‑ready liquidity summaries).

For concrete next steps, scan local labour analysis like the Mavenside Singapore Jobs Strategy 2025 report for openings and sector signals, read the Accenture coverage on how GenAI will rewire banking roles (Accenture analysis on GenAI rewiring banking roles - Straits Times), and consider a practical, workplace‑focused course - Nucamp's 15‑week AI Essentials for Work teaches promptcraft and job‑based AI skills and is designed to move finance teams from theory to measurable productivity gains (Nucamp AI Essentials for Work (15-week AI bootcamp)).

Act now: learn a few high‑value AI tasks, build one portfolio project, and use SkillsFuture/ employer place‑and‑train routes to translate skills into safer, higher‑value roles - so AI becomes a co‑worker, not a replacement.

Location	Role	Salary (SGD)
Beach Road	Assistant Manager (Service Office)	3,000–3,700
Loyang	Sales Executive (Labels)	3,200–3,400
Marina Bay Financial Centre	Business Development Manager	3,500–4,500

“Banking is still going to be about relationships, trust and deposits. Gen AI will rewire how nearly every job in banking is run.” - Michael Abbott, global banking lead at Accenture