Singapore Monetary Authority: Received 170 Applications for Digital Payment Token (DPT) Service Provider Licenses

Source: Cailianshe | Blockchain Daily

Reporter Xu Cihao Li Honghui

Original title: "Exclusive | Singapore Monetary Authority: Received 170 DPT license applications, 30 withdrawn, 2 rejected"

Recently, Australian cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve announced that it has obtained the "in-principle approval" from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act (PSA), allowing it to become a regulated digital payment token (DPT) service provider.

In response to this matter, a spokesperson for the Monetary Authority of Singapore exclusively responded to the Blockchain Daily reporter that Independent Reserve's "principle approval" refers to a notification and it is not an official term.

A MAS spokesperson stressed that applicants who have received such notifications from MAS do not yet hold a payment services license. If the applicant takes the necessary steps to meet MAS’ requirements for licensed operations, it will subsequently receive a license from MAS.

This also means that Independent Reserve has not yet obtained a digital payment token (DPT) license.

A MAS spokesperson further revealed that MAS has received 170 DPT applications from service providers. Recently, MAS has notified some applicants and is preparing to issue them payment service licenses under the Payment Services Act.

The spokesperson said that MAS will continue to review outstanding DPT applications. MAS has conducted rigorous reviews and some DPT applicants did not meet MAS's standards in terms of money laundering and terrorist financing ("ML/TF") and technical risk control. Among them, MAS has so far withdrawn 30 DPT applications (or 18% of applications) and rejected 2 applications while engaging with them. MAS will be very cautious about applications that are lacking in ML/TF and technical risk control, and will reject applicants that do not meet the required standards.

Blockchain Daily reported on June 4 that Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said in an interview that there are currently more than 300 companies applying to MAS for licenses to operate payment or cryptocurrency exchange businesses in Singapore, including well-known companies such as Alibaba, Binance, and Google's parent company.

Wang Haifeng, a senior researcher at OKLink Research Institute, said in an interview with Blockchain Daily that Singapore had expanded its regulatory system and implemented a compulsory licensing system as early as November 2018. In the long run, it will be beneficial for related companies to carry out innovative services within the regulatory framework. Especially in the context of stricter global regulation, Singapore has become a hotbed for blockchain innovation and development.