MAS bans Binance.com from unlicensed payment services, red flags it with Investor Alert List

THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has stopped Binance.com from carrying on its unlicensed payment services, and put the crypto exchange on its Investor Alert List. 

The move by Singapore's central bank mirrors a crackdown on Binance's operations by regulators around the world.

On Thursday, an MAS spokesperson said the central bank has reviewed Binance.com’s operations and is of the view that Binance, the operator of Binance.com, may be in breach of the Payment Services Act (PS Act) for carrying on the business of providing payment services to, and soliciting such business from Singapore residents without an appropriate licence.

"As Binance did not apply for a licence under the PS Act, MAS has listed Binance.com on the Investor Alert List, to warn consumers in Singapore that Binance is not regulated or licensed in Singapore to provide any payment services. Binance is required to cease providing payment services which are regulated under the PS Act to Singapore residents and cease soliciting such business from Singapore residents," the MAS spokesperson said. 

Binance Asia Services (BAS), the Singapore unit of Binance which operates Binance.sg, has submitted a licence application under the PS Act, and is currently exempted from holding a licence for the provision of digital payment token services under the transitional arrangements in the PS Act. 

The MAS spokesperson added: "MAS has been engaging BAS and expects BAS to immediately begin an orderly suspension of its facilitation of transfers of digital payment token assets between BAS and Binance. BAS will inform its customers of the appropriate arrangements as soon as practicable. "BAS’ licence application remains under review, subject to it demonstrating that it is able to meet requirements under the PS Act."

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In response to media queries in June, the MAS had said it is aware of actions taken by other regulatory authorities against Binance and "will follow up as appropriate with (Binance Asia Services)".The top global crypto bourse's UK arm, Binance Markets, was in June banned from doing regulated business in the UK over concerns that it was not doing enough to prevent money laundering and other financial crimes on its platform. Earlier, Japan's financial regulator issued a notice warning that Binance was not registered to do business within the country.

MAS' Investor Alert List currently has 699 companies, entities not regulated by the central bank but may have given investors the impression that they are licensed or regulated by the MAS.

In response, Binance.sg said the notice has "no direct impact" on the services it provides, and stressed that it is an independent entity. "Binance Singapore (Binance.sg) is a separate legal entity from Binance.com with its own local executive and management team and does not offer any products or services via the Binance.com website or other related entities, and vice versa. Binance Singapore is solely focused on growing the Singapore cryptocurrency ecosystem and servicing users in Singapore," the company said in response to The Business Times' queries.

Binance.com, in a separate statement, said it is "actively working with the MAS to address concerns that they may have through constructive dialogue".

A Binance.com spokesperson said the company takes a "collaborative approach" in working with regulators. "We take our compliance obligations very seriously. We are actively keeping abreast of changing policies, rules and laws in this new space. We will work closely with MAS and other global regulators to comply with the relevant regulatory standards," said the company's spokesperson.  

READ MORE:

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• Binance founder says its US crypto exchange arm targets IPO in three years
• Binance can't be supervised properly, says UK financial watchdog