Flywire, a Temasek-backed payments platform, has secured in-principle approval for a major payment institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The licence, which was granted under the Payment Services Act, gives US-based Flywire the right to operate domestic money transfer services, merchant acquisition services, and cross-border money transfer services, it said in an announcement.
This complements the fintech platform’s current focus on payment services for corporates as well as solutions for clients in the B2B, healthcare, education, and travel industries.
So far, over 15 firms, including Coinbase and Crypto.com, have received in-principle approval for a major payment institution licence since Singapore launched the scheme in 2019.
Founded in 2009 by MIT alumnus Iker Marcaide, Flywire services over 2,800 clients across more than 240 countries. The firm recently shifted its focus to Asia Pacific from its original headquarters in Boston, following strong growth reported by e-commerce players there.
In line with this, Flywire acquired the Australian payments provider Cohort Go for an undisclosed amount in July 2022 and has been expanding its teams in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Singapore.
The firm listed on the Nasdaq at a valuation of $3.39 billion in May 2021.