Ripple Labs has received regulatory approval from Singapore’s central bank to widen the scope of its payments business, strengthening the firm’s push to deepen its institutional footprint across Asia-Pacific.
Key Takeaways:
- Ripple won approval from Singapore’s central bank to expand regulated payment services for banks and corporates.
- The wider license allows Ripple to scale infrastructure for faster, cheaper cross-border transactions using RLUSD and XRP.
- The move supports Ripple’s Asia-Pacific expansion as regional on-chain activity jumps roughly 70% year over year.
The company said Monday that its local unit, Ripple Markets APAC, has been cleared by the Monetary Authority of Singapore under its Major Payment Institution (MPI) license to expand regulated payment activities.
The decision enables the firm to broaden the services it can offer to banks and corporates in the city-state’s tightly supervised financial market.
Ripple President: Singapore Approval Sets Stage for Bigger Investment Push
Ripple President Monica Long said the company values Singapore’s regulatory stance and sees the broader license as a foundation for further investment.
She added that the move would help Ripple build infrastructure for financial institutions seeking faster and more secure cross-border payments.
At the center of those services is Ripple Payments, which connects clients to on- and off-ramps for collections, custody, currency conversion and payouts.
The system uses digital payment tokens such as RLUSD and XRP to settle transactions across borders, aiming to reduce fees and processing times for corporate users moving money internationally.
Singapore has been part of Ripple’s strategy since 2017. The firm first secured its MPI license in 2023, allowing it to provide regulated digital token services.
While the MAS registry still lists token-related activities under the license, the company says the latest approval widens its operating scope beyond those functions, positioning it to offer a broader set of institutional services.
The regulatory milestone arrives alongside an acquisition drive designed to support enterprise clients.
In early November, Ripple bought Palisade, a wallet and custodian provider, as part of a plan to bundle custody with payments and liquidity tools for large customers.
Regional growth has been a key driver. Ripple Asia-Pacific head Fiona Murray said on-chain activity in the region has climbed about 70% year-over-year, with Singapore at what she called “the center of that growth.”
She said the expanded permissions will help Ripple deliver regulated services “to the institutions driving that growth.”
Ripple’s RLUSD Wins Regulatory Green Light in Abu Dhabi
Last week, Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD was cleared for institutional use in Abu Dhabi after receiving recognition as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token from the local regulator.
The approval allows licensed firms within Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to use RLUSD for regulated financial activities inside the free-zone financial center.
The green light was granted by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, which supervises ADGM. Under the rules, companies can deploy RLUSD if they meet requirements around reserves, transparency, and compliance.
The decision strengthens Ripple’s expansion across the UAE. In recent months, the company secured approvals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and onboarded partners including Zand Bank and Mamo.
As reported, Ripple is also weighing whether to bring staking to the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a move that would push the decade-old blockchain deeper into the rapidly expanding world of decentralized finance.
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