Singapore opens limited MAS label to some foreign stablecoins

The Monetary Authority of Singapore published consultation P015-2026 on Sept. 1, 2026, proposing amendments to the Payment Services Act 2019 to put its single-currency stablecoin framework into law. The consultation includes draft legislative text and closes for feedback at 11:59 p.m. Singapore time on Oct. 16, 2026.

Under the draft rules, only issuers that meet full licensing and operational requirements may describe their tokens as MAS-regulated stablecoins. The regime would require reserve assets covering at least 100% of outstanding tokens, support redemption at par, and meet standards on capital, disclosure and reserve management.

The proposal reverses a 2023 position that qualifying stablecoins must be issued solely in Singapore. Two limited exceptions are proposed: stablecoins jointly issued by a Singapore entity and a foreign issuer may qualify if risks are managed, and a small number of foreign-issued tokens supervised under comparable overseas regimes could be recognised. Recognition of overseas regimes would be assessed individually and limited in number.

New operational safeguards are stricter than the earlier policy. The draft bans issuers from paying interest to token holders, requires quarterly stress testing, and mandates recovery and orderly wind-down plans. Issuers would also need systems to protect customer money received before tokens are issued and the technical ability to trace, freeze or burn tokens linked to illicit activity.

The consultation sets supervisory powers that could extend to circulation of tokens. Proposed measures include the potential for licensed digital payment token providers to delist systemically important stablecoins that fail to meet requirements.

Tokens that do not meet the MAS-regulated criteria would continue to be treated as Digital Payment Tokens under the Payment Services Act. Firms that provide services to those tokens would remain subject to licensing, anti-money-laundering and consumer protection obligations. The draft would restrict how tokens are marketed and labelled but would not ban issuance or trading of non-qualifying tokens.

No implementation date is included in the consultation. Final legal changes will depend on feedback received by the Oct. 16 deadline and on subsequent legislative finalisation. MAS states it will evaluate foreign licensing regimes on a case-by-case basis and limit the number of overseas tokens it recognises.