MAS Granted In-principle Approval to Revolut and Luno to Offer DPT Services

MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) has granted "in-principle approval" to Revolut and Luno, permitting them to operate DPT (digital payment token) services under the Payment Services Act.

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MAS managing director Ravi Menon described the licensing process in Singapore as necessarily stringent for Singapore to be a responsible global crypto hub.

As a licensed major payment institution in Singapore, Revolut can provide customers the ability to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency from within the Revolut app, as well as merchant-acquiring services with the in-principle approval.

Luno is already regulated by Malaysia's SC (Securities Commission) and registered with Indonesian authorities. The company said the in-principle approval will enable it to provide services to buy, store and trade cryptocurrencies in Singapore.

Some 170 companies applied for a DPT licence in Singapore since the Payment Services Act came into effect in January 2020. Of these, four applicants have received licences – TripleA, FOMO Pay, DBS Vickers, and Independent Reserve.

Besides Revolut and Luno, other firms reported to have received in-principle approvals from MAS are Hodlnaut, Digital Treasures Center (DTC), Paxos, Sygnum, and Coinhako.

MAS also requires crypto firms to have a formalised approach to identify and assess money laundering and terrorist financing risks, and conduct proper customer due diligence on all DPT transactions.

“If a potential customer is assessed to have higher money laundering risk, then we expect the crypto service provider to take enhanced customer due diligence measures to mitigate and manage these risks,” Menon said.

In addition, crypto firms in Singapore should monitor their business relations with customers on an ongoing basis, implement the travel rule, and comply with MAS requirements around technology risk management and cyber hygiene.

“The licensing process is stringent because we want to be a responsible global crypto hub,” Menon said, adding that MAS has taken a “tough line” on retail access “because we're not sure that’s a good idea for retail investors to be dabbling in cryptocurrencies.”