The 2024 Terrorism Financing (TF) National Risk Assessment (NRA) offers an updated evaluation of Singapore’s TF landscape since the TF NR published in 2020. It reflects learnings and insights, particularly considering the digital economy’s accelerated growth in Asia due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This enables law enforcement, financial intelligence, regulatory, policy-making, and private sector entities […]

Singapore has revamped its National Strategy for Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), aiming to create a robust shield against the evolving threats of terrorism financing. The strategy emphasises a proactive, multi-pronged approach that combines stringent regulations, vigilant supervision, and decisive enforcement. The Singaporean government’s five-pronged approach to countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) includes […]

What is inherent risk? Why do I need to know my organisation’s inherent risk level? How do I calculate my organisation’s inherent risk exposure? This article provides you with answers to the above questions. What Inherent risk provides a baseline understanding of the level of risk present before any controls are implemented. It helps organisations […]

Laws such as the Securities and Futures Act as well as the Financial Advisers Act have been crafted, modified, and updated to help regulate the financial sector in Singapore. These laws are combined to form a single modular licensing model and an integrated regulatory framework that provides industry participants with a sound and transparent set […]

The first step for payment service providers is to understand the regulatory classification of the payment service(s) they are providing, including to consider whether they may require a license beyond payment services such as a license for dealing in securities. There are 6 different kinds of payment service activities [1] under the Payment Services Act […]

On 30 December 2020, the Singapore terrorism financing (TF) national risk assessment (NRA) was published. This report is a joint effort by the Risks and Typologies Inter-Agency Group (RTIG), led by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) further enhanced by the involvement of the private sector and academia […]

Under the Payment Services Act 2019 (the “PS Act“)_a digital payment token (“DPT“) “is, or is intended to be, a medium of exchange accepted by the public, or a section of the public, as payment for goods or services or for the discharge of a debt”[1] which “is not denominated in any currency, and is […]

Regulatory technology (“regtech”), a subset of financial technology (well known as “fintech”), seeks to achieve better regulatory outcomes through the use of technology. Regtech has been used by financial institutions for decades; for example, WorldCheck, a well-known tool used to screen customers. In recent years, regtech gained increasing traction among financial institutions for the efficiency […]

COVID 19 has caused significant turbulence in the global markets. Global stock markets have yet to recover and traditional assets are less attractive in the current situation. However, a potential bright spark could be seen in the crowdfunding space. As fall-out from COVID 19 has placed enormous pressure on businesses, numerous reports have been compiled […]