Major payment institutions are licensed and regulated under the Payment Services Act (“PS Act”) to provide payment services without being subject to the specified thresholds. The thresholds are set out in section 6(5) of the PS Act. In summary, these are:
Note that entities that provide only money-changing services should hold a money-changing license instead. Entities that provide payment services under the specified thresholds should hold a standard payment institution license.
Timeframe | 6 Months |
Capital | US$ 188,000 |
Accounting Required | |
Nominee Required |
Contact us now for more information about the Financial Adviser’s Licence in Singapore.
Singapore is already one of the world’s top financial hubs, and it is constantly innovating. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the financial and AML regulator, has created a friendly and sustainable environment for fintech companies.
The new flexible regulation for payment services providers has a favorable license regime with low fees; Singapore is eager to support the development of crypto businesses.
There are no taxes on the profits generated outside of Singapore. The income from a local activity is subject to a mere 8,5% for the first S$300,000 ($220k) and 17% for anything above.
Major Payment service provider license has no restrictions on the volume of transactions and amount of transactions.
Activity Type | Brief Description |
---|---|
Activity A Account issuance service |
The service of issuing a payment account or any service relating to any operation required for operating a payment account, such as an e-wallet (including certain multi-purpose stored value cards) or a non-bank issued credit card. |
Activity B Domestic money transfer service |
Providing local funds transfer service in Singapore. This includes payment gateway services and payment kiosk services. |
Activity C Cross-border money transfer service |
Providing inbound or outbound remittance service in Singapore. |
Activity D Merchant acquisition service |
Providing merchant acquisition service in Singapore where the service provider processes payment transactions from the merchant and processes payment receipts on behalf of the merchant. Usually, the service includes providing a point-of-sale terminal or online payment gateway. |
Activity E E-money issuance service |
Issuing e-money to allow the user to pay merchants or transfer to another individual. |
Activity F 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. |
Activity G Money-changing service |
Buying or selling foreign currency notes. |
The criteria are as follows:
When assessing an application, MAS takes into consideration factors such as:
Licensees are required to comply, on an ongoing basis, with all applicable requirements set out under the PS Act, as well as other relevant legislation. Licensees are expected to put in place systems, policies, and procedures to ensure that they fulfill all ongoing obligations, including the key areas below:
The types of services provided by financial planners vary widely. Some planners assess every aspect of their clients’ financial profile, including savings, investments, insurance, tax, retirement, and estate planning, and help them develop detailed strategies to meet their financial objectives. Others may call themselves financial planners, but only provide advice on a limited range of products and services.
MAS regulates all financial planning activities related to securities, futures, and insurance. Tax and estate planning activities do not come under our regulatory ambit. Hence, only financial planners who conduct activities regulated under the FAA are required to be licensed as a financial adviser. A financial planner may conduct other activities such as tax planning, but these are not subject to supervision by MAS.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |