Earlier this year, Ripple received in-principle approval of its Major Payments Institution (MPI) license application from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Four months on, Ripple is pleased to “announce that its Singapore subsidiary, Ripple Markets APAC Pte Ltd, has secured its full MPI license to provide digital payment token services in Singapore.”
This license underscores “the real-world utility of crypto solutions for businesses and financial institutions alike, marking an important step towards wider adoption of digital assets.”
Singapore is known as a key jurisdiction focused on digital asset regulation, “making it an ideal location for businesses and financial institutions to harness the power of crypto for cross-border payments, crypto liquidity and central bank digital currencies.”
Brad Garlinghouse, Chief Executive Officer of Ripple, said:
“Since establishing Singapore as our Asia Pacific headquarters in 2017, the country has been pivotal to Ripple’s global business. We have hired exceptional talent and local leadership, doubling headcount over the past year and plan to continue growing our presence in a progressive jurisdiction like Singapore. Under MAS’ leadership, Singapore has developed into one of the leading fintech and digital asset hubs striking the balance between innovation, consumer protection and responsible growth.”
Historically, Singapore has “experienced staggering periods of transformation by leaning into technology to support economic growth, invite new investments, and even streamline government services.”
In 2022, Singapore secured the number four spot on “the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking which measures a country’s ability to adopt new technologies.”
Regulatory clarity is a major contributor “to Singapore’s success, proving pivotal to ensuring security and trust for businesses and institutions to explore crypto solutions.”
While some countries are pumping the brakes “on crypto innovation, Singapore is staying well ahead of the curve by future-proofing for the inevitable.”
Global finance leaders agree that digital assets are “here to stay. 90% believe blockchain and digital assets will have a significant or massive impact on business, finance, and society in the next three years, and almost half of Asia Pacific finance leaders plan to use crypto for cross-border payments.”
In general, payments across Asia Pacific will “continue to trend increasingly digital — cashless transaction volume is set to increase 109% by 2025 — and Ripple will continue to prioritize this region for adoption of its global payments solutions.”
