UK paytech TerraPay handed MPI licence by MAS in fresh push for APAC expansion
UK payments infrastructure firm TerraPay has received a Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a fresh boost for its cross-border payment services.
UK’s TerraPay handed MPI licence from MAS
The regulator says that an MPI licence enables the recipient to “conduct multiple payment services” beyond the threshold limits of SGD 3 million for monthly transactions per payment service and SGD 5 million in daily outstanding e-money, among others outlined on its website.
Describing Singapore as a “strategic location”, TerraPay says it plans to capitalise on the receipt of its 11th licence to date with services pertaining to account and e-money issuance, domestic and cross-border money transfers, and merchant acquisition, as part of its renewed attempt to “strengthen existing and new partnerships” in the region.
Sheshagiri Malliah, managing director of TerraPay, cites the licence approval as “a big milestone…especially as we expand our reach and services across geographical borders”.
He claims that this pursuit will be accompanied by “the development of strategic cross-border payment partnerships and innovative solutions to help simplify global money movement”.
Founded in 2014, the London-based firm operates a global real-time payments network for banks, mobile wallets, money transfer operators, merchants and financial institutions, which it claims currently connects to over 7.5 billion bank accounts and over 2.1 billion mobile wallets.
Its efforts to extend the network to the four corners of the globe received additional backing last year when it raised over $100 million in debt and equity funding in April and was authorised as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) by the Bank of Italy the following August.
