ShopBack gets major payment institution license in Singapore

ShopBack, a shopping, rewards, and payments platform in the Asia-Pacific region, has received a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

This license, granted under the Payment Services Act, allows the company to offer regulated payment services in Singapore through its product, ShopBack Pay.

With the MPI license, ShopBack Pay can now help merchants accept payments and support secure customer transactions.

Acting CFO and Chief of Staff Huanmin Huang said the license helps scale services while ensuring security.

The license also allows ShopBack to engage more effectively with merchant partners, streamline settlement processes, and explore future payment innovations in Singapore.

Operating under formal regulatory oversight, the company aims to strengthen its payment ecosystem and expand its regional reach.

🔗 Source: ShopBack

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Singapore’s strategic regulatory framework is reshaping the payments landscape

ShopBack’s MPI license is part of Singapore’s broader vision to establish itself as a financial technology hub through calculated regulatory advancements.

The Payment Services Act, implemented in January 2020, established a comprehensive framework regulating seven key payment activities including account issuance, money transfers, and electronic money issuance 1.

This regulatory architecture reflects MAS’s deliberate strategy to foster innovation while maintaining stability, demonstrated through initiatives like SGQR (unified QR codes), FAST (instant transfers), and PayNow (mobile-based transfers) 2.

The MPI license that ShopBack secured is the highest tier of three license categories (alongside Standard Payment Institution and Money-Changing licenses), allowing companies to operate without transaction volume restrictions and engage in cross-border services 3 4.

For ShopBack, this represents more than compliance—it provides access to Singapore’s sophisticated payment infrastructure that processed approximately US$1.9 trillion annually through various electronic payment channels.

2️⃣ Asia’s digital payment transformation is accelerating beyond traditional banking

ShopBack’s payment license positions it within Asia’s rapidly evolving payment ecosystem where digital wallets now dominate e-commerce transactions, accounting for 73% of payments compared to just 15% for traditional cards 5.