Singapore orders Binance to stop providing payment services
01:51, 3 September 2021
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has ordered cryptocurrency exchange Binance to stop providing payment services in the city state, the latest move by authorities against the company.
The MAS said on Thursday (2 September), in response to media enquiries that Binance, the operator of Binance.com, may be in breach of Singapore’s Payment Services (PS) Act for providing payment services without an appropriate licence.
"Binance is required to cease providing payment services which are regulated under the PS Act to Singapore residents and cease soliciting such business from Singapore residents." an MAS told Capital.com.
"MAS has been engaging BAS and expects BAS to immediately begin an orderly suspension of its facilitation of transfers of digital payment token assets between BAS and Binance. BAS will inform its customers of the appropriate arrangements as soon as practicable," the spokesperson added.
Not all Binance entities barred from Singapore
However, in a sign of the complexities surrounding the regulation of the digital currency exchange, although Binance itself has not applied for a payments licence, according to the spokesperson, another entity has.
Binance Asia Services – a firm which operates under digital currency exchange Binance.sg – has applied for a Singapore payment licence, according to the CNA report.
The MAS has not replied to Capital.com’s request for confirmation on these details at the time of writing.
Regulators globally hit out at Binance
The MAS move is the latest reprimand issued by regulators globally to Binance.
At the start of August, the Malaysian securities regulator ordered Binance to shut down its local website, prior to that Hong Kong and Lithuania censured the digital exchange.
In July, the Thai securities regulator filed a criminal complaint against Binance for the same reason, a move which followed public statements from authorities in Japan, the UK and the Cayman Islands highlighting the cryptocurrency exchange's lack of local licencing.
Binance appoints Singapore CEO
In an apparent bid to reduce regulatory tensions, Binance recently appointed Richard Teng, a previous head of regulatory affairs at the Singapore Exchange, as CEO of Binance Singapore.
Read more: Binance Singapore hires regulatory veteran as CEO
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