Director Chua Tju Liang comments on the new Payment Services Act in Singapore Business Review article “Singapore to elevate hub status with new digital banking regulation”

22 Apr 2020

Director Chua Tju Liang’s comments on the new Payment Services Act (PSA) was published in the Singapore Business Review (SBR) article, “Singapore to elevate hub status with new digital banking regulation”.
 
The article discussed the new PSA which the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has finally commenced in January 2020, repealing the Money-changing and Remittance Businesses Act and the Payment Systems (Oversight) Act. The new act covers new types of payment services, such as digital payment token services, and adopts an activity-based licensing framework. It is expected to be enhanced under the new PSA in an effort to strengthen consumer protection and promote confidence in the use of e-payments.
 
According to Tju Liang, regarding the flexibility of the new PSA regulatory framework compared to the two previous acts it repealed, the PSA unifies the prior regulatory regime and implements a flexible, modular and risk-focused regulatory structure. This allows the rules to be tailored both to the specific scope of services being offered by a payment services provider and to the magnitude and systemic importance of such providers.

He added that under the PSA licensing regime, at any point in time, a payment service provider needs only one license, but of a class that corresponds to the risk posed by the scale of payment services provided. Risk mitigating measures are then tailored to the specific payment services that a licensee provides to better safeguard customer and merchant monies, ensure adequate controls against money laundering and terrorism financing risks, reduce fragmentation and strengthen technology and cyber standards in the payments space.

You may read the full article on Singapore Business Review here.  

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