Overview of licences for financial institutions in Singapore

Accepting deposits in Singapore requires the financial institution to hold a banking licence or become licenced as a finance company. Alternatively, a business holding a licence for account issuance services under the Payment Services Act can create accounts. These accounts are however restricted to holding SGD 5,000 at any time and a total transaction amount of SGD 30,000 over a one-year period and the money may need to be in a segregated account with a bank.