MAS Grants KPay Major Payment Institution Licence for Three Payment Activities
Oct. 15, 2026 • Article • Banking & Payments
Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore has granted KPay Merchant Service (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. a Major Payment Institution licence under the Payment Services Act 2019. The approval allows the KPay subsidiary to conduct merchant acquisition, domestic money transfer and cross-border money transfer services. MAS had issued in-principle approval in July 2026 before granting the full licence after regulatory conditions were met.
Unlike a Standard Payment Institution licence, the major institution licence does not carry monthly transaction volume caps, but it brings stricter base capital and customer-fund safeguarding requirements. KPay, which entered Singapore in 2022 and serves more than 10,000 local merchants, has also launched Online Payments for e-commerce, digital invoicing and remote collection, alongside KPay POS for food and beverage businesses. The group says it plans to use Singapore as a base for expanding cross-border payment operations across Asia-Pacific. The licence covers its specified Singapore activities; the regional expansion remains a stated plan.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has granted a Major Payment Institution licence to KPay Merchant Service (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., authorising the KPay subsidiary to provide merchant acquisition, domestic money transfer and cross-border money transfer services under the Payment Services Act 2019.
The full approval gives KPay a broader regulated basis for its Singapore payments business. It also removes the monthly transaction volume caps that apply to Standard Payment Institutions, while bringing stricter base capital and customer-fund safeguarding requirements. The grant follows in-principle approval issued by MAS in July 2026 and the subsequent fulfilment of regulatory conditions.
What the licence covers
Merchant acquisition is the regulated activity associated with accepting and processing payments for merchants. The two money transfer permissions cover domestic and cross-border services. Together, the three activities describe the scope of KPay’s Singapore authorisation; the licence should not be read as approval for every category of payment service under the Act.
The distinction between a Standard Payment Institution and a Major Payment Institution is significant for a provider serving a growing merchant base. The major institution licence removes the standard licence’s monthly transaction volume limits, but it also requires the firm to meet the higher capital and customer-fund safeguards attached to that status. The approval therefore changes both the operating limits and the regulatory obligations of the licensed Singapore subsidiary.
KPay entered Singapore in 2022 and now serves more than 10,000 local merchants, primarily in retail and food and beverage. That existing merchant base provides context for the licence: the company already operates in the market, while the approval establishes its permission to conduct the three specified regulated activities without the monthly volume caps imposed on Standard Payment Institutions.
New products for Singapore merchants
Alongside the full licence, KPay expanded its product suite with Online Payments, which supports e-commerce transactions, digital invoicing and remote payment collection. Those functions address transactions that do not depend on an in-person checkout, adding online and remote collection options to the company’s merchant offering.
KPay also launched KPay POS in Singapore. The integrated point-of-sale platform combines payment processing with inventory tracking and analytics for the food and beverage sector. The launch places transaction handling and operational tools in the same product for merchants in a sector that forms part of KPay’s existing local customer base.
The two products address different payment settings. Online Payments supports e-commerce and remote collection, while KPay POS is designed around food and beverage point-of-sale operations. Their launches accompany the regulatory approval, but the licence itself is defined by the three authorised payment activities rather than by the names or features of individual products.
Regional plans and company context
Following the licence grant, KPay said it plans to use Singapore as a regional regulatory launchpad to expand cross-border payment operations across Asia-Pacific. That is a stated next step, distinct from the permission MAS has granted to KPay Merchant Service (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. for its specified activities in Singapore.
KPay Group has dual headquarters in Hong Kong and Singapore and serves more than 100,000 merchant accounts across Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. The group raised US$55 million in a Series A funding round in 2024. Those figures describe the wider group; the more than 10,000 local merchants figure refers specifically to KPay’s Singapore market.
The immediate development is the full Singapore licence and its defined scope. It allows the subsidiary to conduct merchant acquisition and domestic and cross-border money transfer services under the major institution regime, subject to that regime’s stronger requirements. KPay’s announced Asia-Pacific expansion remains a plan, while the Online Payments and KPay POS launches add to the products it offers merchants in Singapore.
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