Finfluencers CNA spoke to said they expected financial institutions to become more rigorous in selecting who to work with.

On their part, they said they would typically only promote products or platforms they believe in. Clearly declaring that content is sponsored, or that they would get money if their viewers signed up for things through affiliated links, is also par for the course.

Mr Aaron Wong, founder of travel website The MileLion, said he has advocated for clearer and more transparent disclosures for sponsored content for years.

In 2017, one of his first articles to go viral highlighted problems with UOB’s campaign for the launch of its KrisFlyer frequent flyer programme account. Lifestyle influencers were engaged but most of their posts were not tagged as sponsored even though the content was clearly paid for, said the 37-year-old, who runs The MileLion full time.

“Even today … disclosure is still the exception rather than the norm. Sometimes people just insert one very inconspicuous line like ‘this post was brought to you by so and so’, buried in a wall of text so that you won’t see it if you’re just scanning the article,” said Mr Wong.

The content creator SG Budget Babe, or Dawn Cher, said responsible advertisements for financial products should always include both the pros and the cons, since how good a product is depends heavily on an individual’s goals.

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.