Singapore Licences

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is Singapore’s central bank and integrated financial regulator.

As central bank, MAS promotes sustainable, non-inflationary economic growth through the conduct of monetary policy and close macroeconomic surveillance and analysis. It manages Singapore’s exchange rate, official foreign reserves, and liquidity in the banking sector.

As an integrated financial supervisor, MAS fosters a sound financial services sector through its prudential oversight of all financial institutions in Singapore – banks, insurers, capital market intermediaries, financial advisors, and stock exchanges. It is also responsible for well-functioning financial markets, sound conduct, and investor education.

Payments & E-money

  • Payment service providers are licensed to provide the following types of payment services under the Payment Services Act 2019:

    • Account issuance service - Issuing a payment account, or any service relating to any operation required for operating such accounts. Examples include electronic wallets (e-wallets) or a stored-value card that can be used to pay at various merchants or to transfer funds to other parties.

    • Domestic money transfer service - Providing local funds transfer service in Singapore, which could include payment gateway services and payment kiosk services.

    • Cross-border money transfer service - Providing inbound or outbound remittance service in Singapore.

    • Merchant acquisition service - Providing the service of accepting and processing payment transactions for a merchant under a contract. This service usually includes the provision of a point-of-sale terminal or online payment gateway.

    • E-money issuance service - Issuing e-money, which can be used for payment or fund transfers.

    • Digital payment token service - Buying or selling digital payment tokens (DPTs) (commonly known as cryptocurrencies), or providing a platform to allow persons to exchange DPTs.

    • Money-changing service - Buying or selling foreign currency notes.

    A firm can apply for a SPI licence if the payment services meet the following thresholds:

    • S$3 million monthly transactions for any payment service (other than e-money account issuance and money-changing services).

    • S$6 million monthly transactions for two or more payment services (other than e-money account issuance and money-changing services).

    • S$5 million of daily outstanding electronic money (e-money).

    A firm must also meet all of the following criteria:

    • Be a Singapore-incorporated company or a Singapore branch of a foreign corporation.

    • Have a permanent place of business or a registered office where the books and records can be securely held.

    • Have a minimum base capital of S$100,000, with sufficient capital buffer

    • Should have either 1 executive director who is a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident (PR), or 1 executive director who is a Singapore Employment Pass (EP) holder and at least 1 other director who is a Singapore citizen or Singapore PR.

  • Under a Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence, a firm can conduct multiple payment services without being subjected to the threshold limits on transaction volume and float that apply to a Standard Payment Institution.

    A firm applying for MPI license must meet all of the following eligibility criteria:

    • Be a Singapore-incorporated company or a Singapore branch of a foreign corporation.

    • Have a permanent place of business or a registered office where the books and records can be securely held.

    • Have a minimum base capital of S$250,000, with sufficient capital buffer for the scale and size of their business

    • Should have either 1 executive director who is a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident (PR), or 1 executive director who is a Singapore Employment Pass (EP) holder and at least 1 other director who is a Singapore citizen or Singapore PR.

Banking & Lending

  • Wholesale banks are licensed under and governed by the Banking Act 1970. Wholesale bank activities may include deposit taking, cheque services and lending, and any other businesses regulated or authorised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”), including financial advisory services, insurance broking and capital market services.

    Wholesale banks operate within the Guidelines for Operations of Wholesale Banks. Wholesale banks do not carry out Singapore dollar retail banking activities. Wholesale banks are also prohibited from engaging in non-financial activities. Section 30 of the Banking Act 1970 defines the permissible activities.

    Financial institutions (“FI”) that wish to conduct banking business in Singapore must meet the MAS’ admission criteria and receive written authorisation from the MAS to set up a wholesale bank in Singapore.

    The MAS’ assessment takes into account the following factors:

    • Financial soundness, track record, world ranking and reputation of the FI, parent company and major shareholders;

    • Strength of home country supervision, including the willingness and ability of the home supervisory authority to cooperate with the MAS, and its framework for cross-border cooperation;

    • Written consent from the home country supervisory authority for the establishment of a banking operation in Singapore;

    • Well-thought strategy for banking and financial services in Singapore, and sound business plans to ensure sustained economic viability; and

    • Robust risk management systems and processes that are commensurate with the FI's size and proposed business.

  • Merchant banks are licenced under and governed by the Banking Act 1970. Section 55V of the Banking Act 1970 defines the permissible activities which include the banking business. Under Section 55U of the Banking Act 1970, merchant banks are restricted in accepting, soliciting and raising deposits in Singapore dollars.

    Financial institutions (“FI”) that wish to conduct the permissible activities in Singapore must meet the MAS’ admission criteria and receive written authorisation from the MAS to set up a merchant bank in Singapore.

    The MAS’ assessment takes into account the following factors:

    • Financial soundness, track record, world ranking and reputation of the FI, parent company and major shareholders;

    • Strength of home country supervision, including the willingness and ability of the home supervisory authority to cooperate with the MAS, and its framework for cross-border cooperation;

    • Written consent from the home country supervisory authority for the establishment of a banking operation in Singapore;

    • Well-thought strategy for banking and financial services in Singapore, and sound business plans to ensure sustained economic viability; and

    • Robust risk management systems and processes that are commensurate with the FI's size and proposed business.

Investment & Trading

  • A firm wishing to carry out capital markets activities must hold a Capital Markets Services (CMS) licence authorised by MAS. These regulated activities are:

    • Dealing in capital markets products

    • Advising on corporate finance

    • Fund management

    • Real estate investment trust management

    • Product financing

    • Providing credit rating services

    • Providing custodial services for securities

    Capital markets products include securities, units in a collective investment scheme (CIS), over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, exchange-traded derivatives and spot foreign exchange for the purposes of leveraged foreign exchange trading.

    The following types of firms typically require a CMS license:

    • Broker-dealers (including securities-based crowdfunding (SCF) operators

    • Corporate finance advisors

    • Credit rating agencies

    • • Real estate investment trust (REIT) managers

    • Fund managers

    When assessing an application for a CMS licence, MAS takes into account factors such as:

    • Fitness and propriety of the applicant, its shareholders and directors.

    • Track record and management expertise of the applicant and its parent company or major shareholders.

    • Ability to meet the minimum financial requirements prescribed under the SFA.

    • Strength of internal risk management and compliance systems.

    • Business model/ plans and projections and the associated risks.

    The firm will also need to appoint the following individuals:

    • Minimum of 2 directors, at least one is resident in Singapore.

    • Chief Executive Officer with least 10 years of relevant experience and is resident in Singapore.

    • Minimum of 2 full-time Singapore-based individuals for each regulated activity

  • A company needs to be licensed or registered for fund management if it raises and manages monies for third party investors in collective investment schemes, or segregated accounts, that invest into capital markets products, such as equities, fixed income assets and financial derivatives.

    Depending on the size of the company’s expected assets under management, target clientele and investment strategy, it can operate as a:

    • Registered Fund Management Company (RFMC), which can have up to 30 accredited and institutional investors, and S$250 million of assets under management (AUM), or

    • Capital markets services (CMS) licence holder for fund management (licensed fund management company, or LFMC). An LFMC has no restriction on the number of investors or AUM, and can be a retail, institutional or venture capital fund manager.