SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Cryptocurrency firm Ripple said on Wednesday its Singapore subsidiary has secured a payments licence to operate in the city-state without transaction thresholds.
The licence, granted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will allow Ripple to provide regulated digital payment token services. It had received initial approval in June.
It is one of 14 companies that are licensed to offer digital payment token services in Singapore. Others include the Singapore arm of Coinbase, the world’s largest listed crypto exchange, as well as the Singapore units of Britain’s Revolut and London-based Blockchain.com.
The MAS, Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator, has said it only grants licences to cryptocurrency firms if they have robust anti-money laundering controls and that most applicants have not been successful.
Based in San Francisco, Ripple said over 90% of its business is outside of the U.S., with Singapore – and to a larger degree Asia-Pacific – being one of the firm’s fastest growing regions.
(Reporting by Rae Wee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
