The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced amendments to the Payment Services Act (PS Act) aimed at broadening the regulatory oversight of services related to digital payment tokens (DPT) service providers.
Effective April 2, MAS will bring several activities under the PS Act’s purview, including custodial services for DPTs, token transfers and exchange facilitation, and cross-border money transfers.
MAS clarified that the law applies even when service providers do not physically handle funds or when transactions do not involve funds accepted or received within Singapore.
The amendments empower MAS to impose anti-money laundering, user protection, and financial stability requirements on DPT service providers.
Staged implementation of the amendments begins on April 4, with transitional arrangements provided for affected entities. They must notify MAS within 30 days and apply for a license within six months to continue operations under review.
Noncompliant entities face closure, with the requirement to cease activities upon the amendments’ enforcement.
Further amendments ensure protection for customer assets of payment token service providers, including asset segregation, trust account placement, bookkeeping, and security measures. These come into effect six months after April 4.
Several crypto firms are obtaining licenses to serve the Singaporean market, with companies like Crypto.com, Coinbase, and Ripple securing complete payment institution licenses. Crypto.com obtained its Major Payment Institution (MPI) license in June 2023, followed by Ripple and Coinbase in October 2023.
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