Singapore for operators.

Company setup

Entity types. Private company limited by shares (Pte Ltd) is the standard vehicle; also sole proprietorship, partnership, LP, LLP, public companies and branches of foreign companies.

Time to incorporate. ACRA says most registrations are approved soon after payment; complex applications can take up to 15 working days, and applications referred to other authorities 14 to 60 days. Registration fee S$300 per ACRA.

Local director. Yes. At least one director must be ordinarily resident in Singapore (Companies Act s145): citizens, PRs, and holders of valid Employment Pass, Personalised Employment Pass or ONE Pass (EP holders need a MOM Letter of Consent). Many foreign founders use a nominee director arranged through an ACRA-registered corporate service provider; nominee status is filed with ACRA.

Local registered office open to the public at least three hours each business day; company secretary must be appointed within six months of incorporation (a sole director cannot also be secretary); registers of controllers and nominee directors must be kept. Incorporation is filed via Bizfile using Singpass, or by a CSP using Corppass.

Sources: acra.gov.sg · aseanbriefing.com

Banking & EMI access

Following the 2023 S$3bn money-laundering case, MAS penalised banks including UOB (S$5.6m), Credit Suisse Singapore branch (S$5.8m), UBS Singapore branch (S$3m), Citi (S$2.6m), Julius Baer (S$2.4m) and LGT (S$1m) on 4 July 2025, and since 1 April 2024 DBS, OCBC, UOB, Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered share red-flag customer information through MAS's COSMIC platform. Expect enhanced due diligence on source of funds, ownership and real business activity. DBS publicly states that companies owned by foreigners with non-local residency, foreign-incorporated companies and payment-services (MSB) firms must apply through a relationship manager rather than online.

Ant Group's ANEXT Bank, a digital wholesale bank launched in June 2022, accepts only Singapore-incorporated businesses with Corppass and may ask foreign-owned companies for extra documents such as counterparties and three months of bank statements. MAS-licensed Major Payment Institutions such as Airwallex, Wise and Revolut are commonly used for multi-currency accounts; their eligibility for non-resident owners was not verified here.

Sources: wealthbriefing.com · fintechnews.sg · dbs.com.sg · bkwordpress-public.anext.com.sg · fintechfutures.com

EMI regime & enforcement

The Payment Services Act 2019 has three licence classes: money-changing, Standard Payment Institution (SPI) and Major Payment Institution (MPI), covering seven payment services including account issuance, domestic and cross-border money transfer, merchant acquisition, e-money issuance and DPT services. An SPI must stay under S$3m average monthly transactions for any one service, S$6m for two or more services, and S$5m average daily e-money float; above that an MPI licence is required. MPIs need S$250,000 base capital, a S$100,000 or S$200,000 security deposit, and must safeguard relevant money through a bank undertaking or guarantee, or a trust account.

The total number of MPIs was not verified for this page (check the MAS Financial Institutions Directory). Enforcement: on 27 June 2025 MAS imposed S$960,000 in AML/CFT composition penalties on five MPIs (Remsea S$280,000, Arcade Plaza Traders S$260,000, J-Dee Remittance S$170,000, Mobile Community Tech S$140,000, OxPay SG S$110,000) for PSN01 breaches between March 2020 and August 2023. On 20 May 2026 MAS announced it had revoked Bsquared Technology's MPI licence, effective 14 May 2026, citing risk-management and outsourcing failings and false or misleading information.

Sources: www2.deloitte.com · mondovisione.com · mas.gov.sg · mas.gov.sg · mondovisione.com · eservices.mas.gov.sg

Licensed firms we track

Licence status and enforcement come from the regulator. Onboarding and sector details are only what each firm states publicly; "unknown" means it doesn't say. Check the register link before you rely on any firm.

Enforcement timeline

1. 14 May 2026Bsquared Technology Pte Ltd: MPI licence revoked (announced 20 May 2026) for risk-management, conflict-of-interest and outsourcing failings and for giving MAS false or misleading information; it can no longer provide DPT services source
2. 4 Jul 2025United Overseas Bank Limited: S$5.6m MAS composition penalty for AML/CFT breaches linked to the 2023 money-laundering case; two UOB individuals publicly reprimanded source
3. 4 Jul 2025Citibank N.A. Singapore Branch / Citibank Singapore Limited: S$2.6m MAS composition penalty (Citi entities collectively) for AML/CFT breaches linked to the 2023 money-laundering case source
4. 4 Jul 2025UBS AG, Singapore Branch: S$3m MAS composition penalty for AML/CFT breaches; a separate S$5.8m penalty on Credit Suisse AG Singapore Branch (acquired by UBS) source
5. 27 Jun 2025OxPay SG Pte Ltd: S$110,000 MAS composition penalty for breaches of AML/CFT Notice PSN01 (one of five MPIs penalised) source

Crypto (MiCA)

Crypto (DPT) services need an SPI or MPI licence under the PS Act. MAS Chairman Gan Kim Yong told Parliament that 37 DPT service providers have been licensed out of nearly 300 applications since 2020 (reported 6 August 2026). Since 30 June 2025, section 137 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2022 requires Singapore-incorporated or Singapore-based digital token service providers that serve only customers outside Singapore to hold a licence or stop.

MAS said on 30 May 2025 that such licences will generally not be granted, so offshore-only firms had to wind down or relocate. Stablecoins: MAS finalised its single-currency stablecoin framework on 15 August 2023. Draft PS Act amendments (consultation P015-2026, published 1 September 2026, closing 16 October 2026) would create a standalone stablecoin issuance licence, with full reserve backing, redemption at par, and the 'MAS-regulated stablecoin' label reserved for licensees.

No commencement date had been set. Enforcement: Bsquared Technology's MPI licence, which covered DPT services, was revoked effective 14 May 2026.

Sources: fintechnews.sg · mas.gov.sg · cnplaw.com · gibsondunn.com · mondovisione.com

Tax

Corporate income tax is 17%. Partial tax exemption: 75% of the first S$10,000 and 50% of the next S$190,000 of chargeable income. New-company start-up exemption for the first three YAs: 75% of the first S$100,000 and 50% of the next S$100,000.

Conditions include Singapore incorporation and tax residence, no more than 20 shareholders, and at least one individual holding 10% or more; investment-holding and property-development companies are excluded. For YA 2026 there is a 40% CIT rebate, capped at S$30,000 including a S$1,500 cash grant for companies that employed at least one local employee in 2025. GST is 9% from 1 January 2024.

Tax residence depends on where control and management is exercised, so a nominee director alone does not establish it.

Sources: iras.gov.sg · 3ecpa.com.sg · compliance.waystone.com · iras.gov.sg

Risk lists

FATF. Not on FATF grey or black lists. The FATF/APG Mutual Evaluation published 6 May 2026 (onsite July 2025) placed Singapore in regular follow-up. Effectiveness: 7 Substantial and 4 Moderate. Technical compliance: 24 Compliant, 14 Largely Compliant, and 2 Partially Compliant (R.24 and R.25 on beneficial ownership).

EU high-risk list. Not listed on the EU list of high-risk third countries for AML/CFT.

FATF flagged low money-laundering penalties, limited verification of beneficial ownership (the register is not public), and few prosecutions relative to investigations. It noted cyber-enabled fraud as the top money-laundering threat and Singapore's role as a major virtual-asset hub.

Sources: fatf-gafi.org · theonlinecitizen.com · finance.ec.europa.eu

Regulators

• Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS): Central bank and integrated financial regulator: banks, payment institutions (PS Act 2019), DPT/digital token service providers (PS Act, FSMA 2022), capital markets; AML/CFT supervision and enforcement
• Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA): Company and business registration (Bizfile), corporate filings, registers of controllers and nominee directors, corporate service provider regulation
• Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS): Corporate income tax, GST, withholding tax administration
• Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO), Singapore Police Force: Singapore's financial intelligence unit; receives suspicious transaction reports