The country of Singapore has a total land mass of about 450 square miles, which is smaller than Los Angeles or New York City. But despite its small size, this island city-state is a major player on the international scene. Not only is it vital for commerce in Southeast Asia, but it’s also one of the biggest sources of and destinations for investment in the world. In fact, much of the country’s global fame is thanks to the Monetary Authority of Singapore. But what is the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and what does it do?
What Is the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and Why Is It Important?
The Monetary Authority of Singapore is the country’s central bank, with official authority over monetary policy and currency. MAS is also Singapore’s regulatory body for financial services, markets, and payment systems.
The regulatory decisions that MAS puts forward affect far more than local financial institutions, however. MAS guidelines reverberate throughout the fintech, insurance, web3, SaaS, and digital payments industries. Singapore is home to more than 1,500 fintech companies.
MAS regulations also impact the country’s lucrative foreign direct investments. In 2024, FDI reached a massive $192 billion, most coming from the United States, the UK, and Japan.
Singapore’s investment power gives its balance sheet a net positive ratio, meaning it has more assets than debts. Credit rating companies (e.g., Moody’s, Fitch) consistently give Singapore an AAA score. Startups that want to attract investments in Singapore have to follow MAS guidelines for risk management and IT security.
What Does the Monetary Authority of Singapore Do?
MAS is responsible for overseeing all of Singapore’s financial institutions, including banks, investment firms, insurers, and private lenders. Its regulatory authority also extends to the country’s stock exchanges, foreign reserves, and exchange rate.
Above all, MAS aims to maintain Singapore’s status as a trusted financial hub for worldwide organizations and investors. To achieve this, the regulator has the authority to set standards and licensing requirements for a wide range of financial enterprises in the country, such as liquidity risk regulations for banks.
One of MAS’s crowning achievements is the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme. The FSTI is a $150 million annual grant program that supports technology innovation and cybersecurity adoption for financial services businesses. This program is a big reason why so many fintech and regtech startups are based in Singapore.
What Organizations Need To Comply With MAS Regulations?
All financial institutions located in Singapore are subject to compliance regulations. In addition, foreign or international organizations that do business in the country must meet MAS guidelines. This includes outside investors and companies that provide technology infrastructure for local industries.
Here are some examples:
- Fintech: Companies that provide technology infrastructure, SaaS development, and IT services for digital banking, electronic payment systems, cryptocurrency exchanges, and other financial systems
- Banking: National and international banks, including merchant banks, commercial banks, full retail banks, and private financing companies
- Investment: Investment firms, credit agencies, financial advisors, fund management companies, and corporate finance professionals
- Insurance: Personal and commercial brokerages, and insurance companies of every size
- Regtech: Companies that provide regulatory compliance, real-time monitoring, and reporting services for financial institutions, including cloud providers and SaaS developers
- Digital Payments: Payment processors, payment gateways, blockchain developers, and web3 companies
Major fintech firms are based in Singapore: Aspire, Thunes, Wise, Nium, and others. Some of the largest companies in the world have their regional headquarters in Singapore, including Visa, Google, Microsoft, and FedEx. In all, more than 4,000 multinational organizations serve the region out of Singapore, over double the number in Hong Kong.
What Does MAS Compliance Involve?
MAS takes a technology-first approach to regulation. This means that, whenever possible, the Monetary Authority tries to give organizations leeway to develop effective solutions for risk management and cybersecurity. Laws come into play when there is a clear need for consumer or business protection.
MAS Guidelines
In Singapore, guidelines are frameworks that outline leading industry standards. The main guideline for fintech organizations is the “MAS Technology Risk Management Guidelines.” This comprehensive framework provides up-to-date guidance on governance, risk management, and security best practices, including:
- Access control, Zero Trust authentication models, and privileged access management
- IT management, patch security, and incident management
- IT resilience, disaster recovery planning, and system backups
- API development, application security, and DevSecOps management
- Technology risk management, assessments, monitoring, and mitigation
- Vendor management and software supply chain security
Are MAS guidelines legally binding? Not exactly. The regulatory body doesn’t expect you to follow the listed controls or examples to the letter. Instead, your company can adapt the framework to your unique operations, business size, and tech stack. That said, you must implement policies and controls that meet the spirit of the guidelines.
Regulatory Compliance
When regulations are necessary, MAS creates a Notice to address key areas. MAS compliance is mandatory where Notices are involved.
There are three main notices that financial organizations and fintech companies need to comply with:
- Technology Risk Management Notice: Robust requirements for ensuring security, privacy, availability, recoverability, and reliability for IT systems that process customer data.
- Cyber Hygiene Notice: A foundational cybersecurity framework, with requirements for anti-malware tools, network security protections, IT maintenance, and authentication standards.
- Notice on Management of Outsourced Relevant Services for Banks and Merchant Banks: Bank regulatory standards for third-party risk management, including ongoing vendor risk monitoring.
Notices are closely tailored to the precise category of technology or financial business they apply to. For example, the TRMN has different versions for banks (FSM-N05), credit card issuers (FSM-N07), merchant banks (FSM-N11), and digital payment systems providers (FSM-N13).
Government Acts
MAS also oversees compliance with government Acts, or statutory laws passed by Singapore’s Parliament. Depending on your company’s operations, you may need to comply with the Banking Act, the Financial Advisors Act, or the Securities and Futures Act.
Virtually all fintech and financial organizations must comply with the Payment Systems Act of 2020 and the Financial Services and Markets Act of 2022. These laws regulate payment services, anti-money-laundering controls, risk management, and technology for financial institutions.
What Does the Monetary Authority of Singapore Mean for Your Operations?
Singapore is one of the most promising markets for financial services, SaaS developers, and fintech companies. To take advantage of the opportunities available, organizations must comply with the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s stringent Technology Risk Management guidelines.
Compyl simplifies this process by centralizing TRM controls, automating evidence gathering, and mapping requirements across multiple frameworks. Request a demo today to discover how Compyl helps organizations simplify MAS compliance while strengthening security and accelerating growth.
