The central bank of Singapore has backed the new code of practice rolled out by ACCESS to facilitate application of payment service provider licence under Singapore’s Payment Services Act.
According to an official media release, the Code of Practice provides practical regulatory guidance to cover new types of digital payments activities has been Facilitated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and developed in consultation with The Association of Banks in Singapore.
Furthermore, the release mentioned that Points global and local digital payment service providers in the right direction to successfully obtain their operating licences and aims to drive a more robust digital economy and promote confidence in the use of e-payments.
Under the Payment Services Act, which came into effect in January 2020, all service providers in Singapore are required to apply for an operating licence to provide specified payment services, including digital payments and trading of digital tokens, the media release said.
The Code of Practice standardises the approach to tackling money laundering and terrorism financing, Know-Your-Customer (KYC) best practices, as well as other key issues relevant to crypto-asset and blockchain companies – all of which are key considerations for the licensing and regulation of digital payment service providers in Singapore, it further mentioned.
In line with the introduction of the FATF Travel Rule that calls on the digital asset industry globally to step up on regulatory compliance, the Code of Practice, which took two years to develop, considered feedback from last year’s public consultation, as well as the requirements and licensing guidelines imposed under the Payment Services Act.
“The Code of Practice aims to be an industry standard to ensure that crypto-firms have put in place sufficiently robust AML and CFT measures while taking into account their risk assessments. Along with the accompanying practice guide, it provides practical regulatory guidance to new types of payments activities such as e-wallets and cryptocurrency exchanges. Through this initiative, we hope to point both global and local digital payment service providers in the right direction to successfully obtain their operating licenses and expand their presence in Singapore. Ultimately, we would like to drive a more robust digital economy and promote confidence in the use of e-payments,” Anson Zeall, Chairman of ACCESS, said.
The Code of Practice is expected to evolve over time in a collaborative manner.
