What is Singapore Payment Services Act?
The Singapore Payment Services (PS) Act is a forward-looking and flexible framework for the regulation of payment systems and payment service providers in Singapore. It is a framework that seeks to unify and streamline the regulatory requirements for various payment services provided in Singapore. The PS Act was passed by Parliament on 14 January 2019 and came to effect on 28 January 2020.
Primarily, the PS Act regulates the following seven types of licensable payment services:
- 1. Account issuance services;
- 2. Domestic money transfer services;
- 3. Cross‑border money transfer services;
- 4. Merchant acquisition services;
- 5. E-money issuance services;
- 6. Digital payment token services; and
- 7. Money‑changing services.
The PS Act provides for regulatory certainty and consumer safeguards while encouraging innovation and growth of payment services and FinTech.
The PS Act serves two main objectives. First, to protect the financial stability of Singapore by ensuring fair competition among market participants. Second, for the Monetary Authority of Singapore to establish a licensing regime and provide direct oversight of payment systems and payment service providers to ensure that they comply with the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism regulations.
Prior to the PS Act, the regulation of payment services was governed by the now repealed, Payment Systems (Oversight) Act and the Money-changing and Remittance Businesses Act.
Read more about this interesting topic about Singapore Payment Services Act on this InCorp Global blog.
