You can apply for a standard payment institution (SPI) licence if your 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).

 

Refer to:

• Financial Institutions Directory to view the list of standard payment institutions in Singapore.
• Section 6(5) of the PS Act for more information on the threshold limits.

Note: You should apply for a major payment institution (MPI) licence if the payment services you provide exceed the specified threshold limits.

If you only provide money-changing services, you should apply for a money-changing licence instead.

Eligibility Criteria

If you are applying for an SPI licence, you must 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.
  • At least one person must be appointed to be present at the place of business or a registered office to address any queries or complaints from consumers.

• Have a minimum base capital of S$100,000.
  
  • You must have sufficient capital buffer in excess of the base capital requirement, bearing in mind the scale and scope of its operations and the potential for profit and losses.
• 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.
  
  

Assessment Criteria

When assessing an application for an SPI licence, MAS takes into consideration (but not limited to) the following factors:

Factor	What it Entails
Fitness and propriety	Your controllers and directors must be fit and proper, in accordance with the Guidelines on Fit and Proper Criteria [FSG-G01].
Competency of key individuals	You should have sufficient experience in operating a business in the payment services industry or related areas in the financial services industry.
Compliance arrangements	You must have in place plans for compliance arrangements that correspond with the business's nature, scale and complexity. Refer to Appendix 2 of the Guidelines on Licensing for Payment Service Providers for the minimum requirements for compliance arrangements.
Technology risk management	If you intend to provide online financial services, you must perform a penetration test of the proposed online financial services. All high-risk findings identified must then be remediated, and an independent validation on the effectiveness of the remediation actions must be completed before the licence is granted.
Audit arrangements	You must have in place plans for adequate independent audit arrangements that correspond with the nature, scale and complexity of the business.
Annual audit requirements	You must have in place plans to meet the annual audit requirements as mentioned in Section 37 of the PS Act .  The auditor must be appointed at your own expense to audit the entity's accounts and transactions, and compliance with the relevant regulations and requirements.
Letter of Responsibility and Letter of Undertaking	MAS may require you to obtain a Letter of Responsibility or a Letter of Undertaking from the entity's majority shareholders, parent company and related company, where appropriate.

 

MAS may also take into consideration:

• Your track record and financial condition, as well as those of your holding company or related corporations, where applicable.
• Your operational readiness, including your ability to comply with regulatory requirements.
• Your holding company's commitment to conduct operations in Singapore.
• Whether you, your holding company or related corporations are subject to proper supervision by a competent regulatory authority.
• Whether the public interest will be served by granting a licence.
  
  

Note: MAS considers each application on its own merits and may take into account these factors on a case-by-case basis.

Refer to the Guidelines on Licensing for Payment Service Providers for more details on the eligibility and assessment criteria.

 

Under a major payment institution (MPI) licence, you can conduct multiple payment services without being subjected to the following threshold limits on transaction volume or float :

• S$3 million monthly transactions for any payment service (other than electronic money (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 e-money.

Refer to:

• Financial Institutions Directory to view the list of major payment institutions in Singapore.
• Section 6(5) of the PS Act  for more information on the threshold limits.

Note: You should apply for a standard payment institution (SPI) licence if the payment services you provide are below the specified threshold limits.

If you only provide money-changing services, you should apply for a money-changing licence instead.

Eligibility Criteria

If you are applying for an MPI licence, you must 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.
  • At least one person must be appointed to be present at the place of business or a registered office to address any queries or complaints from consumers.

• Have a minimum base capital of S$250,000.
  
  • You must have sufficient capital buffer in excess of the base capital requirement, bearing in mind the scale and scope of its operations and the potential for profit and losses.
• 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.

 

Assessment Criteria

When assessing an application for an MPI licence, MAS takes into consideration (but not limited to) the following factors:

Factor	What it Entails
Fitness and propriety	Your controllers and directors must be fit and proper, in accordance with the Guidelines on Fit and Proper Criteria [FSG-G01].
Competency of key individuals	You should have sufficient experience in operating a business in the payment services industry or related areas in the financial services industry.
Security	You must provide the following security prior to starting business: (For monthly payment transactions where the total value does not exceed S$6 million on average for any payment service within a calendar year) S$100,000 (For all other cases) S$200,000 The security must be made in the form of a cash deposit with MAS or a bank guarantee.
Compliance arrangements	You must have in place plans for compliance arrangements that correspond with the business's nature, scale and complexity. Refer to Appendix 2 of the Guidelines on Licensing for Payment Service Providers for the minimum requirements for compliance arrangements.
Technology risk management	If you intend to provide online financial services, you must perform a penetration test of the proposed online financial services. All high-risk findings identified must then be remediated, and an independent validation on the effectiveness of the remediation actions must be completed before the licence is granted.
Audit arrangements	You must have in place plans for adequate independent audit arrangements that correspond with the nature, scale and complexity of the business.
Annual audit requirements	You must have in place plans to meet the annual audit requirements as mentioned in Section 37 of the PS Act.  The auditor must be appointed at your own expense to audit the entity's accounts and transactions, and compliance with the relevant regulations and requirements.
Letter of Responsibility and Letter of Undertaking	MAS may require you to obtain a Letter of Responsibility or a Letter of Undertaking from the entity's majority shareholders, parent company and related company, where appropriate.

 

MAS may also take into consideration:

• Your track record and financial condition, as well as those of your holding company or related corporations, where applicable.
• Your operational readiness, including your ability to comply with regulatory requirements.
• Your holding company's commitment to conduct operations in Singapore.
• Whether you, your holding company or related corporations are subject to proper supervision by a competent regulatory authority.
• Whether the public interest will be served by granting a licence.
  
  

Note: MAS considers each application on its own merits and may take into account these factors on a case-by-case basis.

Refer to the Guidelines on Licensing for Payment Service Providers for more details on the eligibility and assessment criteria.

If you provide money-changing service (for example, the service of buying or selling foreign currency notes), you will have to apply for a money-changing licence.

 

Refer to Financial Institutions Directory to view the list of money-changing licensees in Singapore.

Note: You must apply for a standard payment institution (SPI) licence or major payment institution (MPI) licence instead if you are providing other payment services.

Eligibility Criteria

You may apply for a money-changing licence if all of the following criteria are met:

Entity type	Governance or ownership requirements
A sole proprietorship	You must be a Singapore citizen. You must have a minimum of 1 year's relevant working or business experience on a full-time basis.
A partnership or limited liability partnership (LLP)	The majority of your partners should be Singapore citizens. If there are only 2 partners, only one of them needs to be a Singapore citizen. Each partner must have a minimum of 1 year's relevant working or business experience on a full-time basis.
Singapore-owned company	More than 50% of the equity shareholdings should be beneficially owned and effectively controlled by Singapore citizens. A majority of the board of directors of the company should be Singapore citizens. If there are only 2 directors, only one of them needs to be a Singapore citizen. Each executive director must have a minimum of 1 year's relevant working or business experience on a full-time basis.
Singapore incorporated wholly-owned subsidiary of a foreign bank, or a foreign company primarily engaged in money-changing	The parent company must: Be of significant size. Possess a good track record and reputation. Be adequately regulated and supervised by its home supervisory authority for anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). (If the entity is a foreign bank) Rank among the top banks in the country where it is incorporated.

 

Assessment Criteria

When assessing an application for a money-changing licence, MAS takes into consideration (but not limited to) the following factors:

Factor	What it Entails
Fitness and propriety	(If the entity is a sole proprietorship) You must satisfy MAS that you are fit and proper in accordance with the Guidelines on Fit and Proper Criteria [FSG-G01]. (If the entity is a company, partnership or LLP) You must satisfy MAS that you, your partners, executive directors and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) are fit and proper in accordance with the  Guidelines on Fit and Proper Criteria [FSG-G01].
Competency of key individuals	You must ensure that the entity's sole proprietor, partners, or executive directors and CEO have: sufficient experience in operating a money-changing business and in AML/CFT. If there is a sizeable team to be managed, the management should also have the relevant experience, competencies and influence to exercise effective oversight and control over the business activities and staff. the necessary educational qualifications and professional certification.
Permanent place of business or registered office	You must have a permanent place of business or a registered office where the books and records can be securely held. At least one person must be appointed to be present at the place of business or a registered office to address any queries or complaints from consumers.
Compliance arrangements	You must have in place plans for compliance arrangements that correspond with the business's nature, scale and complexity. Refer to Appendix 2 of the Guidelines on Licensing for Payment Service Providers for the minimum requirements for compliance arrangements.
Audit arrangements	You must have in place plans for adequate independent audit arrangements that correspond with the nature, scale and complexity of the business.
Annual audit requirements	You must have in place plans to meet the annual audit requirements as mentioned in Section 37 of the PS Act.  The auditor must be appointed at your own expense to audit the entity's accounts and transactions, and compliance with the relevant regulations and requirements.
Letter of Responsibility and Letter of Undertaking	MAS may require you to obtain a Letter of Responsibility or a Letter of Undertaking from the entity's majority shareholders, parent company and related company, where appropriate.

MAS may also take into consideration:

• The track record and financial condition of the entity, its holding company or related corporations, where applicable.
• The entity's operational readiness, including the ability to comply with regulatory requirements.
• The commitment of the entity's holding company to conduct operations in Singapore.
• Whether the entity, its holding company or related corporations are subject to proper supervision by a competent regulatory authority.
• Whether the public interest will be served by granting a licence.
  
  

Note: MAS considers each application on its own merits and may take into account these factors on a case-by-case basis.

Refer to the Guidelines on Licensing for Payment Service Providers  for more details on the eligibility and assessment criteria.