Shopline unit secures MAS in-principle approval for payment license

Shopline has received in-principle approval for a major payment institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Shopline is a Singapore-headquartered commerce software provider with operations across Asia-Pacific.

The approval will allow Shopline to directly process payments for merchants on its platform, pending final approval from MAS.

The MPI license covers services including account issuance, domestic and cross-border money transfers, merchant acquisition, and e-money issuance.

Shopline currently supports over 600,000 merchants and previously relied on third-party payment providers.

The company said the license will let it offer direct payment services to merchants, potentially reducing costs and providing faster settlements.

Shopline joins other firms in Singapore expanding into regulated payments as the city-state’s fintech sector grows.

🔗 Source: Shopline

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

An IPA does not let SHOPLINE offer payment services yet 1. MAS can withdraw it if conditions fail or new issues arise 1.
New Major Payment Institution (MPI) applications need legal opinions from qualified law firms and reviews by independent external auditors, which adds time plus cost 2.
MAS added a case-on-hold track for applications that need extended review, so SHOPLINE could face extra scrutiny and delays before full licensing 2.
TransferMate is a cross-border payments provider 3. It announced MAS in-principle approval to expand services in August 2025, which did not permit those services until all conditions were met 3.

There are 90 entities licensed as Major Payment Institutions providing Merchant Acquisition Service in Singapore, and merchant acquirers are companies that sign up merchants to accept payments then process those transactions 4. This gives business-to-business (B2B) providers a concentrated pool of qualified leads 4.
Platforms with MPI licenses that include merchant acquisition handle Know Your Customer (KYC) checks and transaction processing 1 2. They also manage fund settlement plus compliance and risk management 1 2. Many outsource parts of this work to specialist vendors 1 2.
MAS sets strict compliance rules for licensed payment institutions 2. These include anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism obligations 2.
Fintech investors and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) vendors can use the MAS Financial Institutions Directory to find licensed entities for partnerships or investment 4. The database is transparent and updated regularly 4.