The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has opened a public consultation on legislative amendments that would write its stablecoin regime directly into the Payment Services Act 2019, moving the framework it finalised in 2023 from policy into binding law. The consultation, numbered P015-2026, runs from 1 September to 16 October 2026, and is accompanied by a full set of draft amendments to the Act.
MAS built its approach in stages. It first consulted on regulating stablecoin activities in 2022, then in August 2023 finalised its framework for MAS-regulated single-currency stablecoins (SCS). The current paper does two things: it introduces that framework into the Payment Services Act, and it proposes further requirements "taking into account stablecoin developments since 2023." Draft legislative text is published as an annex, with subsidiary legislation to be consulted on at a later date.
New definitions, and a selective gate
MAS is treating regulated stablecoins as a defined subset of digital payment token (DPT) activity, the same class its Payment Services Act already covers and layering the extra reserve and redemption duties on top. Two labels gain statutory footing in the process, a general "stablecoin" and the narrower "MAS-regulated stablecoin", and the "e-money" definition is trimmed so a fiat-pegged coin is not accidentally swept up by it. Only issuers that are licensed and meet the framework's requirements may label their tokens "MAS-regulated", a distinction meant to help consumers and businesses tell value-stable, supervised coins apart from those that are not. Stablecoins that fall outside the framework remain within the existing DPT regime.
MAS was explicit that it will be selective. It said it "expects to take a selective and risk-based approach" to authorising issuers and recognising foreign-issued stablecoins, and "anticipates that this will result in a limited number" being approved, with applications assessed on financial health, business-model viability and past operational performance. That caution is consistent with MAS's broader licensing posture, where approval rates have run low across digital-asset applications.
Tighter obligations on issuers
Beyond the 2023 baseline, the paper floats a series of stricter obligations on issuers of MAS-regulated stablecoins, including:
- a prohibition on paying interest to holders;
- restrictions on using customers' money, and interest earned on it, to on-lend or materially finance the business;
- potential caps on aggregate issuance or on individual holdings;
- a requirement to hold customer funds apart from the issuer’s own money, so that cash taken in whether before a coin is issued or before a redemption is paid, stays protected and returnable if the issuer fails, echoing the treatment long applied to e-money;
- a rule that once an issuer loses, surrenders or lets its licence lapse, it must stop all issuance including non-regulated coins so that no firm can keep trading on a lapsed "MAS-regulated" association;
- powers for MAS to prohibit the disposal of reserve assets;
- regular stress testing, additional liquidity and risk-based capital requirements, and plans for recovery and orderly wind-up.
One proposal stands out for compliance teams. Issuers would be required to have the technical capability to trace, freeze and, where needed, burn their own stablecoins. MAS also invites feedback on more far-reaching measures adopted elsewhere, requiring every token holder to be identity-verified, curbing the use of self-custody (unhosted) wallets, and keeping tokens under on-chain monitoring as they circulate, while stressing that these remain exploratory at this stage rather than firm proposals.
Systemic coins, and foreign issuers
The paper adds a dedicated framework for "designated systemic stablecoins." MAS would be able to designate coins that reach systemic importance, impose issuer-grade requirements plus recovery and resolution plans, and, where a systemic coin is non-compliant, issue directions to restrict its circulation. MAS is consulting on the factors it should weigh before designating a coin as systemic, and on an appropriate notice period and recourse for holders.
Separately, MAS proposes routes to recognise foreign-regulated stablecoins, and to require any bank or merchant bank that wants to offer a MAS-regulated SCS to do so through a separate non-bank subsidiary instead of issuing it on its own balance sheet. The recognition track, like the licensing track, is narrow. The approach contrasts with neighbouring Hong Kong, where a licensed stablecoin has already gone live through appointed distributors.
For issuers and service providers eyeing Singapore, the consultation is the clearest signal yet of what a licence will demand and of how few licences MAS expects to grant. Written comments are due by 11.59pm on 16 October 2026. Submissions will be published and attributed to respondents unless they expressly request confidentiality.
