In this guide · 8 sections
- 01The licence: what money-changing covers
- 02Displaying exchange rates and fees
- 03Business hours, receipts and records
- 04Online reservations: the delayed money-changing warning
- 05How customers check your licence
- 06What a compliant money changer website includes
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
Money-changing needs a MAS money-changing licence under the Payment Services Act. Notice PSN07 requires rates and any separate fees displayed prominently before the customer uses the service, plus published business hours. Reserve-now, collect-later orders need a written risk warning under PSN08.
The licence: what money-changing covers
Under the Payment Services Act 2019, money-changing service means buying or selling foreign currency notes. MAS regulates it as one of the payment services, and its payments regulation page lists the money-changing licence alongside the Standard and Major Payment Institution licences.
| Activity | Licence needed |
|---|---|
| Buying and selling foreign currency notes at a counter | Money-changing licence |
| Taking orders online, collecting cash at the counter later | Money-changing licence, with delayed money-changing disclosures |
| Sending money overseas (remittance) | Standard or Major Payment Institution licence for cross-border money transfer |
| Holding customer balances in an e-wallet | Standard or Major Payment Institution licence |
MAS's own consultation paper of October 2026 describes money-changing licensees as limited to money-changing services, usually conducted with customers at physical premises. If your website suggests transfers abroad, wallets or anything beyond notes, check your licence covers it before publishing.
Displaying exchange rates and fees
MAS Notice PSN07 on Conduct says a money-changing licensee must display prominently, so that a customer or potential customer would see it before using the service, the exchange rate it is offering for a money-changing service, and any separate fee it will charge.
Rate display checklist for a money changer's website
The notice is about what the customer sees before the transaction. A website rate board that is stale for days and differs from the counter is a customer complaint waiting to happen, even if the counter display is correct. If you show live rates, make sure the feed fails safely: show 'call for rate' rather than a frozen number when the update stops.
Business hours, receipts and records
PSN07 also covers several things that touch the website and customer communications.
- Business hours: licensees must notify customers in writing of their normal business days and hours, publish them in publicly available material and display them prominently. Your website and Google Business Profile are the obvious places, and must be updated when hours change.
- Receipts: licensees must issue receipts for money-changing transactions in the cases the notice sets out; receipts can be paper or electronic.
- Records: money-changing transactions must be recorded in English with details including the exchange rate applied and any commission or charges.
- Staffing: the notice requires a person to be present at the permanent place of business for minimum days and hours each month.
Separately, anti-money laundering requirements under MAS Notice PSN01 apply, including customer due diligence. If your website collects identity details for reservations, that is personal data under the PDPA and needs a privacy notice, secure storage and limited retention.
Online reservations: the delayed money-changing warning
Many money changers let customers lock a rate online and collect the cash later. MAS Notice PSN08 on Disclosures and Communications calls this a 'delayed money-changing service': a transaction not completed immediately.
Show the MAS risk warning before the order
PSN08 requires the licensee to give the customer the money-changing risk disclosure in Annex B. It says the Act does not require the licensee to deliver the currency later or guarantee any debt owed to the customer will be settled.
Get written acknowledgement
The customer must acknowledge the statement in writing before the transaction is entered into. A required tick-box with the full text, recorded with a timestamp, is the usual way online.
Make it readable
The statement must not be obscured or buried in other text, and must be in a reasonable size and typeface.
Keep the record
Store the acknowledgement with the order so you can show it was given.
If a third party, such as a marketplace or travel app, takes orders on your behalf, PSN08 also has rules for offers and advertisements made by soliciting parties, including making clear who actually provides the service.
How customers check your licence
Customers and partners can look up any licensee in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory. Make it easy for them.
Good practice on the website
- Your registered business name exactly as in the MAS directory
- The licence type, worded accurately
- A link to the MAS Financial Institutions Directory
- Your permanent place of business address and hours
What to avoid
- Logos or wording suggesting MAS endorses or guarantees you
- Using a brand name that does not match the licensed entity without explaining
- Promising delivery or courier of cash if you do not offer it
- Asking for payment to personal bank accounts or by unusual methods
Scammers impersonate well-known money changers with fake websites and social media pages. Monitor for lookalike domains and pages using your name, and put a short 'how to spot a fake' note on your contact page. Our guides to financial adviser website rules and moneylender advertising rules cover similar issues for other regulated businesses.
What a compliant money changer website includes
For businesses that also take card or PayNow payments online, our guide to collecting payments and PSA licensing explains when a payment flow needs its own licence.
Do it yourself or get help?
The rules are short, but getting rate updates, disclosures and acknowledgement records right in a web form is fiddly. Have your compliance officer or legal adviser sign off the wording; the website should then show it exactly as approved.
Our Business Website (S$1,490) covers up to 6 pages with a mobile-first design, contact form and WhatsApp button, Google Business Profile link and map, and on-page SEO, with text you can edit yourself. A live rate feed or a reservation system with recorded acknowledgements is custom work quoted separately. IT Sorted is a Singapore-based team of developers with over 10 years of experience; you pay upfront, send the brief in writing and follow progress on your order page.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Buying and selling foreign currency notes is a money-changing service regulated under the Payment Services Act 2019, and a business providing it needs a money-changing licence from MAS unless exempt. The licence covers only money-changing; remittance and e-wallets need a Standard or Major Payment Institution licence.
Yes. MAS Notice PSN07 requires a money-changing licensee to display prominently the exchange rate it is offering, and any separate fee, so that customers see them before using the service. Transactions with banks and other licensees to manage the licensee's own foreign exchange risk are excluded.
Reserve-now, collect-later orders are a delayed money-changing service under MAS Notice PSN08. Before the transaction, the licensee must give the customer the MAS risk warning in Annex B and obtain the customer's written acknowledgement. The warning must be clearly visible and in a reasonable font size.
They can search the MAS Financial Institutions Directory on the MAS website, which lists licensed payment service providers including money-changing licensees. A money changer's website should use its registered name exactly as listed and link to the directory so customers can verify it easily.
If it collects personal data, such as names, phone numbers or identity details for reservations, the PDPA applies. You need to tell customers why you collect the data, protect it, and keep it only as long as needed, alongside any anti-money laundering record-keeping obligations.