Ripple Labs has received approval from the Central Bank of Singapore to expand its payments activities in the region, amid a broader effort to expand its business and institutional services through acquisitions.
Ripple’s Singapore subsidiary Ripple Markets APAC has received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to expand its scope of regulated payment activities under the Major Payments Institution (MPI) license, the company announced on Monday.
Ripple President Monica Long said in a statement that the company values ”Singapore’s forward-thinking approach” and that “the expanded license strengthens our ability to continue to invest in Singapore and build the infrastructure that financial institutions need to move money efficiently, quickly and securely.”
Ripple Payments’ system uses digital payment tokens such as stablecoins RLUSD and XRP (XRP) for cross-border transactions. Ripple said the service was created to serve as an on-ramp and off-ramp to support collections, holdings, exchanges, and payments for banks and businesses.
sauce: ripple
The company has already made several key acquisitions this year to expand its services for businesses and institutional investors, most recently acquiring crypto custody and wallet company Palisade on November 4th.
Singapore is ‘critically important’ to Ripple’s global business
Ripple was granted an MPI license in 2023, allowing it to offer regulated digital payment token services in Singapore.
As of Monday, the MAS website still only lists digital payment token services under Ripple’s license, which “refers to the buying and selling of digital payment tokens or the provision of a platform on which users can exchange digital payment tokens.”
Related: Singapore’s “financially savvy” crypto retailers prefer trust over low fees: study
Ripple has been operating in Singapore since 2017, and the company said the region is “critically important” to its global business.
Cryptocurrency usage surges in Asia Pacific
Meanwhile, Ripple’s vice president and managing director for Asia Pacific, Fiona Murray, said the region is also experiencing significant growth, with on-chain activity in the region increasing by around 70% year-on-year, with Singapore at the “center of that growth”.
“This expanded scope of payments activities will enable us to better support institutions in driving growth by offering a broader range of regulated payment services and delivering faster and more efficient payments to their customers.”
According to the 2025 Global Adoption Index released by Chainalysis on September 3, the Asia-Pacific region recorded the highest year-on-year growth.
The total amount received increased by 69% to $2.36 trillion, led by India, Pakistan and Vietnam, with the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand also in the top 20.
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