Payment Services Act (Singapore)— What is regulated?
The Payment Services Act 2019 (No. 2 of 2019) (the “PS Act”) came into force on 28 January 2020, repealing the Payment Systems (Oversight) Act (the “PS(O)A”) and the Money-changing and Remittance Businesses Act (the “MCRBA”). All businesses that carry out one or more regulated payment activities under the PS Act will require a payment service provider licence.
Regulated Payment Activities
The types of payment services that will be regulated under the PS Act are:
Types of payment service provider licences
There are three main payment service provider licences:
(i) Major payment institution licence (“MPI Licence”);
(ii) Standard payment standard institution licence (“SPI Licence”); and
(iii) Money-changing licence.
The MPI Licence and SPI Licence are distinguished from each other based on the average monthly transaction value or the average daily e- money issued for the regulated payment service being conducted. A MPI Licence is required for businesses where:
(i) the average monthly transaction value exceeds S$3 million for one regulated payment service or S$6 million for two or more regulated payment services;
(ii) the average daily e-money issued exceeds S$5 million for an e-money issuance service; or
(iii) the average daily e-money stored in a payment account and/or issued exceeds S$5 million for an e-money account issuance service.
The criteria to obtain and to operate under a MPI Licence is of a higher standard than that of the SPI Licenceand may include additional obligations on the MPI Licence holder to safeguard customers’ monies, maintain a security deposit with MAS and to meet certain compliance requirements.
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