Calling itself a financial superapp, Revolut the company behind the app has announced that it will now offer crypto services in Singapore.
Revolut Technologies Singapore, has obtained in-principle approval to offer digital payment tokens (DPT) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act.
The Payments Services Act 2019 was actually introduced by the MAS to provide a framework for financial services businesses to safely extend into the digital asset sector.
The company is already licensed as a ‘Major Payment Institution’ in Singapore. The new approval will allow the company to now also offer crypto services to its clients.
The managing director of MAS, Ravi Menon has said the criteria for providing a DPT license is based on the assessment of the company which mostly depends on its ability to manage risks such as money laundering, terrorism financing, public retail access and technology risks.
The bank has granted licenses or in-principle approvals to 11 companies over the past two years.
Ravi also said that until now, the central bank has fully approved only three DPT licenses.
The government of Singapore runs a tight ship when it comes to the crypto industry. Earlier this month, Singapore passed a law under which virtual asset service providers in the country that solely do business overseas will need to be licensed under the new legislation.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has also previously issued guidelines asking crypto firms to not promote their services to the general public in Singapore. The MAS has repeatedly warned the public that trading cryptocurrencies is extremely risky and not suitable for the public.