Crypto company Ripple wins payments licence from MAS

CRYPTO payment company Ripple announced that its Singapore subsidiary, Ripple Markets Apac, has won a major payments institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

The licence, which follows the group’s in-principle approval for the licence application in June, will allow it to continue providing regulated digital payment token services in Singapore, the company said on Wednesday (Oct 4).

Ripple provides cross-border payment services and lets customers buy, sell and hold digital assets on its blockchain platform.

The US-based company first set up shop in Singapore in 2017. Ripple said that while the company’s headcount has doubled in the past year, it plans to continue growing its presence “in a progressive jurisdiction like Singapore”.

The company will continue to prioritise the Asia-Pacific region for adoption of its crypto-enabled payments solutions, it added.

Earlier this week, crypto exchange Coinbase also received a major payments institution licence from MAS, after it was granted initial approval in October last year. The licence will allow the US-based crypto exchange to offer digital payment token services to individuals and institutions in Singapore.