Ripple Labs has secured an expanded license from Singapore’s central bank, adding to its already strong regulatory foothold in the country.
Summary
- Ripple received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to expand the scope of its Major Payment Institution license.
- According to Ripple execs, the expanded license will allow it to better support institutions.
According to a Dec. 1 announcement, Ripple Markets APAC, which serves as the blockchain payment firm’s Singapore subsidiary, has been greenlighted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to expand the scope of payment services it can offer under its Major Payment Institution license.
“Ripple has always taken a regulation first approach and Singapore is proof that innovation thrives when rules are clear. This expanded license strengthens our ability to continue investing in Singapore and to build the infrastructure financial institutions need to move money efficiently, quickly, and safely,” Ripple President Monica Long said in an accompanying statement.
Ripple did not disclose the full breakdown of the newly added permissions, but according to Vice President and Managing Director Fiona Murray, the latest approval will allow the company to “better support” institutions that are driving the region’s rapid adoption of digital assets.
“The Asia Pacific region leads the world in real digital asset usage, with on chain activity up roughly 70% year over year. Singapore sits at the center of that growth,” Murray said.
Ripple has a longstanding history in Singapore, having first entered the market in 2017 when it established its Asia Pacific headquarters. It was later granted an MPI license in 2023.
Under the 2023 license, Ripple was allowed to offer regulated digital payment token services. As of Monday, the official website for MAS still lists digital payment token services under Ripple’s license, which essentially means Ripple can provide services involving buying or selling digital payment tokens and operating a platform that allows users to exchange them.
Ripple’s regulated payment offerings include a global payout network powered by its RLUSD stablecoin and XRP, which act as settlement assets for fast cross-border transfers. According to the announcement, Ripple’s payment system was developed to offer an end-to-end on-ramp and off-ramp that covers collection, holding, swapping, and payout, the announcement said.
While Ripple has continued to expand its suite of institutional offerings through new partnerships and acquisitions, it has also focused on promoting RLUSD adoption across the globe.
Last month, Ripple partnered with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini to pilot the use of RLUSD for credit card settlement, prior to which Ripple rolled out RLUSD in key markets including the United States, the Middle East, Africa, and several Asia Pacific corridors. More recently, Ripple finalized plans for an early 2026 RLUSD launch in Japan through its partnership with SBI Holdings.
RLUSD surpassed $1 billion in market cap for the first time in early November and is currently the thirteenth largest stablecoin according to CoinGecko.
