S’pore fintech firm DTC awarded full licence by MAS to offer crypto payments for merchants

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) granted yesterday (August 1) Digital Treasures Center (DTC) its Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence to offer Digital Payment Token services in Singapore. 

The company believes that cryptocurrencies have the potential to revolutionise the payments industry, and focuses on enabling cryptocurrency payments for merchants.

DTC had previously been operating under an exemption from the Payment Services Act, and received an in-principle approval from MAS in March.

With this MPI licence, DTC is now a fully regulated provider under MAS. Following which, it can provide account issuance services, merchant acquisition services, domestic and cross-border money transfer services, e-money issuance services, and Digital Payment Token Services. 

Alice Liu, co-founder and CEO of DTC, expressed that the company is excited to obtain the full licence from MAS, and promised that it will continue to build on the good work that the team is currently doing.

She also hinted at possible regional expansion, saying that the company is looking to expand their footprint globally, starting from ASEAN neighbours.

We are grateful for the support and trust that our clients and community have given us over the years. We are optimistic about the future of cryptocurrency as a use case for payment.

Over the past few months, we are seeing an uptick of enquiries and onboarding from merchants and companies from healthcare to music, F&B and automobiles on enabling crypto payments. As crypto payment gains momentum, we are hopeful to see more merchants from various industries coming onboard to accept crypto as an additional form of payment.

– Alice Liu, co-founder and CEO of DTC

Only six companies have been granted full licences so far

So far, only a handful of companies have obtained an in-principle approval from MAS to offer Digital Payment Token services in Singapore, and even fewer have been granted the full licences.

MAS most recently granted an in-principle approval to three new companies in June, including Crypto.com, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

With DTC now receiving its Major Payment Institution Licence, a total of six companies are considered fully regulated companies for Digital Payment Token services in Singapore so far.

Other companies that have received their licences include FOMO Pay, Independent Reserve, DBS Vickers, TripleA, and Coinhako.

Featured Image Credit: Digital Treasures Center