MAS Imposes S$960,000 in Penalties on Five Payment Institutions

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed composition penalties totaling S$960,000 on five Major Payment Institutions (MPIs) licensed for cross-border money transfer services. The penalties stem from breaches of MAS' Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements, identified during examinations of their compliance with MAS Notice PSN01.

The five MPIs and their respective penalties are:

• Remsea Pte Ltd (S$280,000);

• Arcade Plaza Traders Pte Ltd (S$260,000);

• J-Dee Remittance Services Pte Ltd (S$170,000);

• Mobile Community Tech Pte Ltd (S$140,000), and;

• OxPay SG Pte Ltd (S$110,000).

Breaches varied but commonly included failures to obtain or verify customer residential addresses, inquire about beneficial owners, verify the authority of persons acting on behalf of customers, and include required wire transfer information.

MAS stated that these inadequate AML/CFT controls exposed the MPIs to the risk of being used for financial crime and undermined the transparency and traceability of funds. The authority emphasized its expectation for senior management of financial institutions to actively oversee AML/CFT controls and ensure effective remediation. The MPIs have submitted plans to address the issues, and MAS will closely monitor their progress. Furthermore, MAS announced it will publish an information paper to guide the industry on common issues, supervisory expectations, and areas for improvement identified during its recent examinations.