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Notifications
 Published Date: 04 April 2024

Expanded scope of the Payment Services Act 2019

The expanded scope of regulated activities and increased regulatory requirements under the Payment Services Act 2019 (“PS Act”) have commenced on 4 April 2024 (the “appointed day”). This is accompanied by the Payment Services (Amendment) Act 2021 (Saving and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024 (“Transitional Regulations 2024”).
Applies to: Standard Payment Institution , Major Payment Institution
View Document View Specimen Form for Payment Services Act 2019 Notification (274.1 KB)


Please view the Payment Services Act 2019 External Auditor Attestation Form (572.1 KB) for more information.


The expanded scope of regulated activities are:

Previously Unregulated Payment Service  Description 
Previously unregulated domestic money transfer service 

The service of accepting money for the purpose of executing or arranging for the execution of, any of the payment transactions, each of which is between a payer in Singapore and a payee in Singapore, in any case where either the payer or the payee is a financial institution:

  1. a payment transaction executed from, by way of or through a payment account;
  2. a direct debit (including a one‑off direct debit) through a payment account;
  3. a credit transfer (including a standing order) through a payment account;
  4. accepting any money from any person for transfer to the payment account of a different person.
Previously unregulated cross-border money transfer service 

Any service of arranging for the transmission of money from any country or territory to another country or territory, whether as principal or agent.
Previously unregulated DPT service 

Any service of:

  1. accepting (whether as principal or agent) DPTs from one DPT account (whether in Singapore or elsewhere), for the purposes of transmitting, or arranging for the transmission of, the DPTs to another DPT account (whether in Singapore or elsewhere);
  2. arranging (whether as principal or agent) for the transmission of DPTs from one DPT account (whether in Singapore or elsewhere) to another DPT account (whether in Singapore or elsewhere);
  3. inducing or attempting to induce any person to enter into or to offer to enter into any agreement for or with a view to buying or selling any DPT in exchange for any money or any other DPT (whether of the same or a different type);
  4. safeguarding a DPT or DPT instrument, where the service provider has control over the DPT or one or more DPTs associated with the DPT instrument; or
  5. carrying out for a customer an instruction relating to a DPT or one or more DPTs associated with a DPT instrument, where the service provider has control over the DPT or the DPT instrument. 
 

Entities should examine the expanded scope of regulated activities to ascertain whether they now come within the regulatory scope of the PS Act.

(i) Entities conducting newly regulated activities must notify MAS via FormSG by 4 May 2024 (1 month from the appointed day), if they wish to continue operations on a temporarily exempt basis under the Transitional Regulations 2024;

(ii) Entities must also submit the following:

(a) Application for the appropriate licence under the PS Act before 4 October 2024 (6 months from the appointed day). For entities that are not currently licensed under the PS Act for any payment service that is caught under the expanded scope of regulated activities, please submit a Form 1 application. For existing licensees, please submit a Form 2 application. Further information on licensing can be found at Licensing for Payment Service Providers; and

(b) Attestation report on the entity’s business activities and compliance with AML/CFT and user protection requirements that is duly completed by an external auditor via FormSG before 4 January 2025 (9 months from the appointed day). The external auditor must meet the minimum qualifications as set out in the Transitional Regulations 2024.

If entities do not fulfil the requirements set out in (a) and (b) above, they will be required to cease providing all activities that are now caught under the expanded scope of regulated activities.

More information on the Transitional Regulations 2024 can also be found in our consultation response here. 

You may refer to Payment Services Act 2019 Notification Form (274.1 KB) and Payment Services Act 2019 External Auditor Attestation Form (572.1 KB)to prepare your notification and attestation form. This specimen form should not be submitted to MAS. Only online submissions via FormSG will be accepted. You should also refer to the following explanatory notes before you submit your notification.

  1. These forms are for persons who, before the commencement date of the Payment Services (Amendment) Act 2021 (“PS Amendment Act”), carry on any of the “previously unregulated payment services” as set out and defined in the Payment Services (Amendment) Act 2021 (Saving and Transitional Provisions) Regulations     2024 (“Transitional Regulations 2024”). Such persons must notify MAS of the date on which they commenced the business of providing the previously unregulated payment service(s). Please refer to the next section for the previously unregulated payment services.
  2. A person who, immediately before 4 April 2024, carries on a business of providing a previously unregulated payment service, is exempt   from sections 5(1) and 6(4) and (5) of the Payment Services Act 2019 (“PS Act”) in respect of that business for the specified period if the person has, on or before 3 May 2024, notified MAS of the date on which it had commenced the business of providing the previously unregulated payment service.
  3. Please note that the following persons need not notify MAS via Payment Services Act 2019 Notification Form that they are providing previously unregulated payment services:
    • Persons who already hold a PS Act licence to provide a domestic money transfer service, cross-border money transfer service or digital payment token (“DPT”) service and who also carry on the business of providing a previously unregulated domestic money transfer service, cross-border money transfer service or DPT service respectively.   For example, if a person already holds a PS Act licence to provide a DPT service, that person need not notify MAS that it is providing a previously unregulated DPT service.   
    • Persons who have been granted an exemption from holding a PS Act licence for a domestic money transfer service, cross-border money transfer service or DPT service under the Payment Services (Exemption for Specified Period) Regulations 2019 (“Exemption Regulations 2019”) and who also carry on the business of providing a previously unregulated domestic money transfer service, cross-border money transfer service or DPT service respectively.   For example, if a person has been granted an exemption from holding a PS Act licence to provide a DPT service under the Exemption Regulations 2019, that person need not notify MAS that it is providing a previously unregulated DPT service. If a person has been granted an exemption from holding a PS Act licence to provide a cross-border money transfer service under the Exemption Regulations 2019 but is providing a previously unregulated DPT service, that person must notify MAS that it is providing a previously unregulated DPT service.
  4. All terms used in this form shall, except where expressly defined in this form or where the context otherwise requires, have the same meaning as defined in the PS Act, the PS Amendment Act or the Transitional Regulations 2024.
  5. All fields are mandatory. If a question or field is not applicable, please check the “N.A.” box or mark “N.A.” in the space provided.
  6. If there are any changes in the information furnished in the notification after submission, please email MAS immediately at payments_department@mas.gov.sg . Please include the response ID of your original submission in your email.
  7. An acknowledgement will be sent to the email addresses specified in Section 1 of the Payment Services Act 2019 Notification Form for all successful notifications.



You may also refer to the FAQs on the Payment Services Act for more information on the scope of payment services.