The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has stated that no businesses have qualified to participate as crypto payment providers in its FinTech Regulatory Sandbox framework.
The MAS clarified in response to a Financial Times letter criticizing the Singaporean government’s lack of public consultation and oversight on crypto adoption that the country does not have a “crypto sandbox” but rather one that supports a broad range of fintech experimentation.
The letter criticized Singapore for “unwisely” permitting crypto companies access to its Fast and Secure Transfers (FAST) interbank payment system. The electronic funds transfer system enables customers of participating institutions to transmit Singapore dollar funds from one institution in Singapore to another.
The MAS clarified that all businesses with a genuine bank account, including crypto companies, have access to the FAST system, stating, “Payments through FAST are in fiat currencies, not cryptocurrencies.”
“These scams entail fraudsters taking control of customers’ mobile devices and effecting unauthorized transfers through the banking system in fiat currencies.”
Singapore provides operational licenses to crypto businesses that demonstrate robust anti-money laundering (AML) controls in its fight against money laundering.
“As these measures are progressively implemented from the end of this year onwards, Singapore will have one of the strictest regulatory regimes in the world governing retail access to cryptocurrencies.”
In this regard, the MAS has recently conducted a public consultation on a suite of regulatory measures designed to mitigate the risks posed by cryptocurrencies to retail customers.
Singapore’s presidential election was won by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the former chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, who has historically viewed crypto assets as hazardous investments.
As MAS chief in 2021, the incoming president reportedly warned Singapore-based users that crypto assets were “extremely volatile” and “extremely risky as investment products.”
