Payment Services Act 2019
The Singapore statute that payment institutions are licensed under. It defines the regulated activities — merchant acquisition, domestic and cross-border money transfer, e-money issuance and others — and a licence names which of them a company may do. A licence covering money transfer does not permit merchant acquiring.
Why it matters to a merchant
The Act is the reason "are you licensed" is a meaningful question in Singapore rather than a rhetorical one. It defines the activities that need a licence and the classes of licence that cover them — so a provider is not simply licensed or unlicensed, but licensed for specific activities. A merchant comparing providers is really comparing which activities each one is authorised to perform.
Where this comes up
Pages on this site that deal with this in context:
Related terms
In this section: Licensing and regulation in Singapore