Singapore regulator makes payments top Bill-ing
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has finalised the new regulatory framework for payment services in Singapore.
Singapore regulator plays lawful good character in payments adventure
Its Payment Services Bill is now law and will provide a “more conducive environment for innovation in payment services, whilst ensuring that risks across the payments value chain are mitigated”.
As reported last year (almost to the day), MAS launched a second consultation on its proposed regulatory framework. MAS managing director, Ravi Menon, said it wants to “encourage wider adoption of secure e-payment solutions”.
With the Bill in place the regulation of payment services is now within a single activity-based legislation.
It comprises two parallel regulatory frameworks, (i) a designation regime that enables MAS to regulate systemically important payment systems, and (ii) a licensing regime that focuses on retail payment services provided to customers and merchants.
A payment service provider (PSP) needs only to hold one licence, but of a class that corresponds to the risk posed by the scale of payment services provided. Risk mitigating measures will be tailored to the specific payment services that a licensee provides to ensure adequate controls against money laundering and terrorism financing risks.
Menon explains that the bill will “strengthen consumer protection and engender confidence in the use of e-payments” and “also illustrates our shift towards regulation that is modular, activity-based and facilitative of growth and development in the Singapore payments landscape”.
The Bill was submitted to Parliament today (19 November), and the explanatory brief can be found here.
None shall sleep
MAS is a very active regulator… in the last week alone.
The Bank of Canada, Bank of England and MAS jointly revealed the potential and their increased interest in blockchain-fuelled payments.
MAS wanted to speed up the world of sandboxes with a consultation paper on the creation of pre-defined ones.
It teamed with Singapore Exchange (SGX) to develop delivery versus payment (DvP) capabilities for the settlement of tokenised assets across different blockchain platforms.
MAS revealed it is launching a $5 billion private market programme to boost the region’s private equity and venture capital scene.
While on 12 November, the busy regulator released a set of principles as it seeks to promote fairness, ethics, accountability and transparency (FEAT) in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics in finance
