Tranglo Granted New Payment Licenses By The Monetary Authority Of Singapore

Cross-border payment hub Tranglo has received new payment functions from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the company shared in an announcement on Monday (Aug. 9). The approvals will enable the company to provide account issuance, domestic money transfer and e-money issuance services.

The MAS operates under the Payment Services Act (PSA), which was passed by the Singaporean Parliament in January 2019 to consolidate regulation and provide safeguards for both consumers and merchants when it comes to digital payments.

Singapore-based Tranglo is regulated by four authorities, and the MAS approvals come at a time when the company is rapidly expanding its cross-border payment network beyond the 22 countries it currently covers.

As per the agreement, millions of customers and businesses will now benefit from the company’s ability to enable payouts and real-time transactions through its local supporting infrastructure. Several countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore will benefit from the new licences, with the Philippines, Indonesia and Pakistan gaining full access to e-wallet functions.

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In an interview with PYMNTS earlier this year, Group CEO Jacky Lee touched on the compliance burden facing players in the payments industry and the dominance of legacy banks in cross-border payments.

He explained that these institutions have deep pockets and “can spend billions of dollars a year to ensure regulatory compliance,” which according to him, is the reason why they continue to be used by many financial service providers.

He also addressed the main challenges facing cross-border B2B payments, including language barriers and different regulatory regimes from one jurisdiction to another, and recommended offloading that compliance load to a financial institution (FI) to reduce the burden.

He added that focusing on compliance and transparency remain key to ensuring that the right technologies for cross-border payments are adopted and put in place.