On 3 July 2023, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published its decision on new investor protection measures for digital payment token (DPT) services. This followed a public consultation that MAS held in end-2022.
From 3 July 2023 to 3 August 2023, MAS also held public consultations on: (1) proposed legislative amendments to the Payment Services Regulations 2019 to implement the new investor protection measures; and (2) additional proposed measures to address market integrity in DPT services.
DPT service providers are required to be licensed by MAS under the Payment Services Act 2019. A DPT service refers to any service of dealing in DPTs (i.e. buying or selling DPTs in exchange for money or other DPTs) or any service of facilitating the exchange of DPTs.
On 3 July 2023, MAS published its decision on introducing investor protection measures for DPT services, which include requiring DPT service providers to comply with the following:
In order to address market integrity risks, MAS has proposed requiring DPT service providers to:
MAS has also proposed to introduce prohibitions against unfair trading practices in the DPT market similar to those currently found in the capital markets, by adopting existing legislative provisions with necessary modifications relating to:
DPT service providers will need to comply with the new requirements when they are implemented and brought into force. DPT service providers should therefore note the new requirements and be prepared to comply.
MAS recently held public consultations on: (1) proposed legislative amendments to the Payment Services Regulations 2019 to implement the new investor protection measures, as well as (2) proposed measures to address market integrity risks and prohibitions against unfair trading practices in the DPT markets. The public consultations closed on 3 August 2023.
MAS can be expected to review comments received before issuing its decision on relevant legislative amendments and additional regulatory measures. DPT service providers should continue to monitor this space for further developments.
*Information is accurate up to 27 November 2023