Nature of Payment Processors
How are payment processors regulated in Singapore?
The following regulated activities apply to payments processing services. The applicable regulation is the Payment Services (PS) Act. Anyone conducting regulated activities under the Payment Services Act must be licenced to do so by the MAS.
According to MAS (Guidelines)
last revised on 18 December 2019
Cross-border money transfer service: Providing inbound or outbound remittance service in Singapore.
"Domestic money transfer service: Providing local funds transfer service in Singapore. This includes payment gateway services and payment kiosk services."
"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."
According to MAS (Pages)
last revised on 23 September 2021
Payment service providers are licensed to provide specified payment services under the PS Act. Payment systems facilitate the transfer of funds between or among participants and may be designated under the PS Act for closer supervision.
According to MAS (PS Act Essential Aspects)
The licensing framework [under the PS Act] regulates seven key payment services:
- a) account issuance service;
- b) domestic money transfer service;
- c) cross-border money transfer service;
- d) merchant acquisition service;
- e) e-money issuance service;
- f) DPT services; and
- g) money-changing service.
Payments processing services are any payment systems that facilitate the transfer of funds between or among parties. To operate, they must be licensed under the MAS which stipulates seven key payments services, and regulated under the Payment Services Act (PSA).