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Ripple secures broader payment license from MAS
Ripple Labs has won an expanded approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to broaden the scope of services under its Major Payment Institution (MPI) license. The decision reinforces Ripple's regulated presence in Singapore and strengthens its ability to offer institutional-grade crypto payment infrastructure across the Asia Pacific region.
What the license expansion means
While Ripple has not published a full itemized list of the newly added permissions, the company says the approval will enable it to deepen support for banks, payment service providers, and other institutions that are accelerating digital asset adoption. The move builds on Ripple's existing MPI authorization granted in 2023, which already allowed the firm to provide regulated digital payment token services, including buying, selling, and operating exchange platforms for digital payment tokens.
Reinforcing a regulation-first strategy
Ripple has emphasized a compliance-first approach as central to its global strategy. Executives describe Singapore as a market where clear regulatory frameworks help innovation scale. With this licensing update, Ripple plans to continue investing in local infrastructure that facilitates fast, secure, and efficient movement of value across borders—using both XRP and its RLUSD stablecoin as settlement assets for institutional flows.
RLUSD adoption and cross-border payments
Ripple's regulated payment stack includes an end-to-end solution designed to cover on-ramps and off-ramps—collection, custody, token swaps, and payouts—optimized for cross-border transfers. RLUSD, Ripple's USD-pegged stablecoin, has become a growing component of that stack. The token recently cleared a major market milestone, passing a $1 billion market capitalization and ranking among the top stablecoins by market value.
The company has pushed RLUSD into multiple corridors and markets, deploying pilots and partnerships to drive real-world payment use cases. Notable collaborations include a pilot program with Mastercard, WebBank, and Gemini to trial RLUSD for credit card settlement. Ripple also announced plans with SBI Holdings for an early 2026 RLUSD roll-out in Japan, underlining a strategy focused on practical settlement use cases rather than speculation alone.
Why Singapore matters for crypto payments
Asia-Pacific leads global on-chain activity growth, with regions reporting strong year-over-year increases in real digital asset usage. Singapore sits at the heart of that momentum due to its clear regulatory environment and its role as a financial hub. The MAS approval enables Ripple to better service institutional demand in a market where regulated stablecoins and compliant cross-border rails are increasingly important.
Implications for institutions and corridors
For banks, remittance providers, and payment platforms, an expanded MPI license for Ripple signals access to more fully regulated rails for tokenized fiat settlement. With XRP and RLUSD as settlement options, the company offers faster liquidity routing than many conventional correspondent banking arrangements. Institutional customers can expect improved capabilities for end-to-end settlement, custody integrations, and cross-border payout orchestration.
Outlook
Ripple's licensing progress in Singapore, combined with growing RLUSD adoption and strategic partnerships, suggests the firm is positioning itself as a compliant infrastructure provider for institutional crypto payments. As digital asset regulation matures across APAC, licensed providers like Ripple may capture increasing market share in regulated stablecoin settlements and cross-border payment corridors.
Source: crypto
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