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MAS powers have been expanded to include regulatory measures on crypto service providers, even if they may not possess the money or cryptocurrency involved.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is enhancing its regulatory framework and updating the Payment Services Act to keep pace with changes to international standards and to better mitigate the money laundering and terrorism financing related to digital payment tokens.
Any entity that facilitates the transmission, exchange or storage of DPTs – also known as cryptocurrencies – will now have to be licensed, MAS said on Monday.
The new legislation will help minimize the risk of DPT service providers being exploited by criminals to launder illicit proceeds or hide illicit assets, said Minister for Transport Ong Ye Kung, who is also a board member of MAS, during the second reading of the Payment Services (Amendment) Bill in Parliament on Monday.
The amendments also give MAS powers to impose measures on DPT service providers to ensure better consumer protection and to maintain financial stability and safeguard the efficacy of monetary policy.
We have seen recent development of new forms of DPTs which values are pegged to stable assets to gain users’ confidence. It is therefore important for MAS to be able to respond to market developments and address new risks in a timely manner, MAS said.
The Payment Services Act, which was introduced in January 2020, provides comprehensive regulation for companies handling activities ranging from digital payments to the trading of tokens such as bitcoin and ethereum, and gives MAS formal supervisory powers for cybersecurity risks and controls on money laundering and terrorism financing.
