Singapore Stablecoin Issuance Licence: MAS Consultation P015-2026, Not Rules in Force

On 1 September 2026 the Monetary Authority of Singapore published consultation paper P015-2026, Consultation on Proposed Amendments to the Payment Services Act 2019 for Stablecoins Regulation. The consultation page lists a start date of 1 September 2026, a closing time of 23:59 on 16 October 2026, and the status Open. The paper proposes amendments to introduce a stablecoin framework and further requirements since 2023. MAS says it will consult on the subsidiary legislation later.

This page therefore describes proposals, not an in-force stablecoin issuance licence with an open application. The draft and Annex C are marked subject to change and to review by the Attorney-General's Chambers. MAS says it expects to authorise issuance licences and recognise foreign stablecoins selectively and on a risk basis, resulting in a limited number. That is not an approval commitment.

The paper carries forward the 2023 policy: the framework is meant to maintain value stability for single-currency stablecoins regulated by MAS. Only an issuer licensed under that framework and meeting the applicable requirements may label its single-currency stablecoin an “MAS-regulated stablecoin”. Persons without the licence would be prohibited from holding themselves out that way. The draft proposes new definitions, including “stablecoin” and “MAS-regulated stablecoin”.

The paper also proposes to state that stablecoins remain within digital payment tokens under the Payment Services Act unless expressly provided otherwise, and to amend the e-money definition so fiat-pegged stablecoins are not e-money for that Act. Issuance is described as including minting, putting coins into circulation, managing reserve assets, redeeming at par, and other incidental activities MAS prescribes. The obligations sit on the licensed issuer.

Paragraphs 2.8 to 2.9 summarise the core obligations: reserve assets at least equal to the par value of all stablecoins in circulation, and redemption at par in the pegged currency within timeframes MAS prescribes. Those paragraphs do not state the number of days. That figure is unknown here. Customer funds received for a purchase must be safeguarded until the stablecoin is delivered. Issuers would also be subject to the Act's existing AML/CFT, technology-risk and consumer-protection requirements.

The draft would not allow the issuer to conduct other regulated activities, such as issuing a non-MAS-regulated stablecoin, other payment services, capital-markets services or banking. Incidental digital-payment-token services for the issuer's own MAS-regulated stablecoin would be allowed without a separate licence. A footnote says an entity in Singapore issuing a non-MAS-regulated stablecoin will need an MPI licence, because it will be deemed to be providing DPT services.

Section 3 is a further set of proposals, also not in force: no interest or other benefit attributable to holding the balance; safeguarding of customer money before delivery; stress testing, proposed at least quarterly with detail left to subsidiary legislation; recovery and orderly wind-down plans; and a technical capability to trace, freeze and/or burn stablecoins used for illicit activity, with the specific requirements left to a later Notice. Base capital is mentioned among prudential items for designated systemic stablecoins. The P015-2026 text checked here does not state a dollar minimum capital for the stablecoin issuance licence. That number is unknown. The paper does not publish an application fee or a processing time.

What can be applied for today is an SPI or MPI under the Payment Services Act, including the DPT service. The stablecoin issuance licence in P015-2026 is a proposed additional class, for the “MAS-regulated stablecoin” label. It does not replace the current MPI/SPI filing path. The footnote still points “issued in Singapore, but not labelled MAS-regulated” to an MPI.

Until the consultation closes and legislation is enacted, do not treat the consultation questions as final admission conditions, and do not tell customers that an MAS-regulated stablecoin can already be issued. The next texts are the enacted amendments and the subsidiary legislation MAS said it will consult on separately. Incorporation, an MPI or SPI, a bank account and this not-yet-in-force issuance licence are four different matters.