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April 18, 2024
On the wires
Finmo Introduces Direct Real-Time Payment (RTP) Integration in Australia and Expands Global Team
PR Newswire
"Finmo Tech Pte. Ltd announced its direct integration with Australia's New Payment Platform (NPP) as an identified institution through its partner bank, Australian Settlements Limited (ASL)."
April 8, 2024
On the web
Singapore Tourism Board & PhonePe to Boost UPI Payments for Indian Visitors
IBS Intelligence
"Singapore Tourism Board and PhonePe enter a two-year strategic partnership to promote UPI payments for Indian visitors in Singapore."
April 2, 2024
On the web
Singapore Amends Payment Services Act to Cover Token Custody and Transfers
Cointelegraph
"On April 2, Singapore’s central bank said it would bring several activities within the scope of the Payment Services Act. This includes providing custodial services for digital payment tokens, facilitating token transfers and exchange and the facilitation of cross-border money transfers."
March 20, 2024
On the web
Grab’s Singapore Users Can Now Use Crypto to Make Payments
Coindesk
"Grab is letting users make payments via cryptocurrencies, the super app's crypto payments partner, Triple-A, said in a statement."
February 22, 2024
On the wires
Visa Singapore Innovation Center Ushers in a New Era of Payments
PR Newswire
"Visa announced the opening of its transformed Singapore Innovation Center, a dedicated space for partners, clients and businesses in Asia Pacific."
January 12, 2024
On the web
Major UPI Apps Enabled to Receive Remittances from Singapore via UPI-PayNow Linkage
NPCI
"The cross-border linkage between Unified Payments Interface (UPI) & PayNow is enabling Indians to receive instant, secure, and cost-effective remittances from Singapore-based Indian diaspora directly into their bank accounts."
December 7, 2023
On the web
Chinese Visitors to Singapore Can Use Digital Yuan CBDC
Ledger Insights
Today the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced an agreement with the People’s Bank of China to allow tourists from either country to use the pilot digital yuan, also known as eCNY.
November 15, 2023
On the web
MAS Partners Financial Industry to Expand Asset Tokenisation Initiatives
MAS
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that it is working with the financial industry to expand asset tokenisation initiatives and develop foundational capabilities to scale tokenised markets...Project Guardian’s industry group of 17 financial institutions (FIs) has initiated five additional industry pilots to test promising asset tokenisation use cases.
November 9, 2023
On the web
Singapore Pilots Next Generation QR Mobile Payments Service
NFCW
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is testing an upgraded version of its SGQR unified QR payment code that will enable merchants to accept QR code payments made using a wider range of local and cross-border payment schemes through a single financial institution rather than having to maintain commercial relationships with individual payment scheme providers."
November 6, 2023
On the web
Monetary Authority of Singapore Imposes Six-Month Pause on DBS Bank’s Non-Essential Activities as Bank Restores System Resilience
Monetary Authority of Singapore
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a six-month pause on DBS Bank Ltd’s (DBS Bank) non-essential IT changes to ensure that the bank keeps sharp focus on restoring the resilience of its digital banking services."
October 2, 2023
On the web
Crypto Exchange Coinbase Gets Singapore Payments Licence
Reuters
"The Singapore arm of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said it had obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence from the city-state's central bank."
August 16, 2023
On the web
MAS Grants Payoneer Singapore License To Operate Variety Of Services And Products
Asia Business Outlook
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted Payoneer Singapore Private Limited, a subsidiary of the US-listed FinTech firm Payoneer Global Inc., a major payment institution license."
August 15, 2023
On the web
Singapore's Central Bank Releases Stablecoin Regulatory Framework
Coindesk
"Stablecoins must hold minimum base capital 1 million Singapore dollars ($740,000) and provide redemption within no more than five business days of a request."
August 7, 2023
On the web
MAS Commits Up To S$150 Million for Technology and Innovation in Financial Sector
Monetary Authority of Singapore
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced that it will commit up to S$150 million over three years under the renewed Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 3.0) [1] . FSTI 3.0 seeks to accelerate and strengthen innovation by supporting projects that involve the use of cutting-edge technologies or with a regional nexus, while doubling down on MAS’ commitment to promote a vibrant technology ecosystem for the financial sector."
July 28, 2023
On the web
MAS [Monetary Authority of Singapore] Announces End-2025 Timeline to Eliminate Corporate Cheques
MAS
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced that all corporate cheques will be eliminated by end-2025 while individuals will still be able to use cheques for a period after 2025. With cheque usage in Singapore falling steadily, the cost of processing each cheque has been rising [1] ."
On the wires
Mastercard Experience Center Brings the Future of Commerce to Life
PrnAsia
"Making payments using solar credits, enjoying a football match in a virtual reality stadium, scanning a product to understand the ethics of its supply chain. These are just some of the next-generation technology propositions on display at the revamped Mastercard Experience Center (MEC) in Singapore....The revitalization of the Singapore innovation space coincides with the release of Mastercard's Future of Payments report which highlights three broad trends that have the potential to collectively expand prosperity and inclusion in the digital economy."
July 11, 2023
On the web
Singapore’s Project Orchid Lets Interoperable Currency Bloom
The Banker
"The world is veering toward a fragmented monetary future in which central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins and other digital money variants jostle for position in an increasingly complex financial ecosystem. Under these conditions, rifts between different ledger technologies and payment infrastructures could also widen over time."
July 6, 2023
On the web
Singapore's DBS Bank Launches Digital Yuan Payment Solution in China
Crypto Briefing
"With its first transaction using the digital yuan, DBS bank is bringing the digital yuan to corporate clients and exploring emerging digital payment solutions."
July 3, 2023
On the web
MAS Publishes Investor Protection Measures for Digital Payment Token Services
MAS
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced new requirements for Digital Payment Token (DPT) service providers to safekeep customer assets under a statutory trust before the end of the year. This will mitigate the risk of loss or misuse of customers’ assets, and facilitate the recovery of customers’ assets in the event of a DPT service provider’s insolvency."
June 26, 2023
On the web
MAS-led Industry Consortium Releases Toolkit for Responsible Use of AI in the Financial Sector
Monetary Authority of Singapore
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced today the release of an open-source toolkit to enable the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the financial industry."
June 22, 2023
On the web
MAS Penalises 3 Banks and an Insurer for Breaches of Anti-Money Laundering Requirements
Monetary Authority of Singapore
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed composition penalties amounting to S$3.8 million in total on Citibank N.A., Singapore Branch (Citibank), DBS Bank Ltd (DBS), OCBC Singapore (OCBC) and Swiss Life (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (SLSG) for breaches of MAS’ Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements. All these financial institutions (FIs) have accepted the penalties."
June 21, 2023
On the web
Monetary Authority of Singapore Proposes Standards for Digital Money
Monetary Authority of Singapore
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today published a whitepaper proposing a common protocol to specify conditions for the use of digital money such as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), tokenised bank deposits [1] , and stablecoins on a distributed ledger."
June 1, 2023
On the wires
Crypto.com Obtains Major Payment Institution Licence from Monetary Authority of Singapore
PR Newswire
"Crypto.com announced today that it has received its Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence for Digital Payment Token (DPT) services from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)."
May 25, 2023
On the wires
Singapore-Headquartered AI Credit Modeling FinTech finbots.ai to Transform Credit Risk Management for Cambodia's Leading Commercial Bank, Sathapana Bank
PR Newswire
"Accel-backed finbots.ai, a Singapore headquartered B2B SaaS FinTech today announced signing Sathapana Bank—Cambodia's leading commercial bank—as their latest client. With this, finbots.ai's fast growing client case has extended to 9 countries across APAC and MEA markets."
May 11, 2023
On the web
WhatsApp Now Allows Singapore-Based Users to Pay Businesses Within the App
Yahoo Life
"After India and Brazil, WhatsApp is launching the ability to pay businesses within a chat in Singapore. Meta has partnered with Stripe to roll out the feature in the region. WhatsApp has built this payment feature using Stripe Connect and Stripe Checkout solutions, making in-app payments available online and offline. Customers can pay businesses using credit cards, debit cards or Singapore's PayNow fund transfer system."
May 9, 2023
On the web
MAS to Build New Information-Sharing Platform for Banks in Singapore to Combat Financial Crimes
CNA
"SINGAPORE: A digital platform for financial institutions in Singapore to share information on suspicious customers or transactions will be set up after parliament passed the Financial Services and Markets (Amendment) Bill on Tuesday (May 9). The new platform will be jointly developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and six major commercial banks - DBS, OCBC, UOB, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank and HSBC."
March 31, 2023
On the web
Launch of Cross-Border QR Code Payments Connectivity Between Singapore and Malaysia
Monetary Authority of Singapore
"The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) today launched a cross-border QR code payment linkage between Singapore and Malaysia. This payment linkage will allow customers of participating financial institutions [1] to make retail payments by scanning NETS QR and DuitNow QR codes [2] . It will support in-person payments through the scanning of physical QR codes displayed by merchants, and online cross-border e-commerce transactions."
March 29, 2023
On the web
Visa Reports on Contactless and Mobile Payments Adoption in Singapore
NFCW
"More than eight in ten consumers in Singapore now use contactless cards (82%) and the widespread use of and preference for contactless card payments is one of the key drivers behind the country’s “shift towards becoming a cashless nation”, according to a Visa report. The latest edition of the card network’s Consumer Payment Attitudes Study also shows that contact and contactless card payments (97%) have now overtaken cash (82%) as the most-used payment method in Singapore and that 95% of consumers in the country make payments using debit and credit cards."
March 14, 2023
On the web
NETS’ Merchants Can Now Accept Mastercard and Visa Payments on Their Terminals
Fintech Singapore
"The Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) Group has inked agreements with Mastercard and Visa to acquire merchants directly in Singapore. Eligible merchants can now have access to an enhanced suite of digital payment schemes such as NETS, Mastercard, and Visa from a single payment service provider. Most existing merchants who already accept NETS can add on Mastercard and Visa as payment options without needing to upgrade their payment terminals."
January 31, 2023
On the web
Fiserv Looks to Support New Payment Flows with Major Payment Institution License from Monetary Authority of Singapore
EIN News
Fiserv, Inc. FISV operating entity that provides payment solutions for merchants in Singapore, First Data Merchant Solutions Private Limited, has been granted a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), effective January 1, 2023. The license allows the company to provide merchant acquisition services and domestic and cross-border money transfer services under the Payment Services Act (PS Act) 2019.
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