AEI Legal is proud to be the contributing author for ICLG’s 2019 Singapore: Fintech guide.

The ICLG Guide to Fintech Laws and Regulations covers a broad overview of common issues in fintech laws and regulations in 51 jurisdictions.

The Guide can be accessed here.

On 14 January 2019, Singapore’s Parliament passed the Payment Services Act, which regulates payment services & places regulatory oversight with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

The Act comprises 2 regulatory frameworks.

The designation regime enables MAS to designate significant payment systems for financial stability and efficiency & competition reasons.

The licensing regime covers 7 types of services: account issuance, domestic money transfers, cross-border money transfers, merchant acquisition, e-money issuance, digital payment token dealing and exchanges, and money-changing. There will be 3 tiers of licences: money-changing licences, standard payment institutions which may provide services up to a specified transaction flow or e-money float threshold, and major payment institutions, who will be subject to more regulation due to the higher associated risk.

This will make Singapore one of the first financial services regulators in the world to introduce a regulatory framework for digital payment token services.