The Asia-Pacific branch of San Francisco-based technology firm Ripple Labs on Thursday said it will start offering digital payment services in Singapore after receiving in-principle approval for its Major Payments Institution License application from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
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Fast facts
- The license will grant Ripple Markets APAC Pte permission to provide regulated digital payment token services and products in Singapore.
- Furthermore, it allows the company to expand customer usage of its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service that leverages the XRP cryptocurrency to facilitate cross-border payments, the company said in a press release.
- “As more countries look to develop regulatory frameworks for crypto, many are looking to Singapore’s early leadership in developing a clear taxonomy and licensing framework. This in-principle regulatory approval from the MAS will enable us to better support our customers looking to hone in on blockchain and crypto technologies to build a more inclusive and borderless financial system,” said Stu Alderoty, the company’s chief legal officer, in the statement.
- Last year, much of Ripple’s global ODL transactions flowed through Singapore, which serves as the company’s Asia Pacific headquarters. Ripple managed to double its workforce in the region over the past year.
- Elsewhere in Asia, Ripple, in collaboration with Fubon Bank — a Hong Kong subsidiary of Taiwan’s Fubon Financial Holding Co. — debuted a payment platform in May to explore use cases for Hong Kong’s central bank digital currency, the e-HKD.
- Ripple has been in a court battle in the U.S. against the Securities and Exchange Commission since December 2020, when the agency sued the firm for allegedly selling US$1.3 billion in unregistered securities.
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