# Lead generation for vendors selling to MAS-licensed firms

> A firm that has just been licensed by MAS, raised money or hired its first compliance officer is about to choose its tools and advisers. We track those moments so your outreach lands while the decision is open.

Source: https://www.fyadvisers.com/lead-generation/fintech-vendors/  
Author: FYAdvisers  
Last updated: 2026-10-08

## Who buys from you, and when

If you sell KYC and screening tools, transaction monitoring, payments infrastructure, regulatory reporting software or outsourced compliance support, your customers are firms that MAS regulates. They buy at predictable points in their life as a regulated business.

**Right after licensing.** A newly licensed payment institution or fund manager has to run to regulatory standards from the start. Many prepared policies before applying, but tools often scale only once real customers and transactions arrive.

**When the business moves up a tier.** A firm adding a licence type, or appearing in a higher category such as Major Payment Institution, takes on more volume and more obligations. Systems that coped at a smaller scale get reviewed.

**After a funding round.** New capital pays for hiring and for replacing the spreadsheets and manual checks that carried the firm through its early stage.

**When the compliance function gets an owner.** The first compliance officer, money laundering reporting officer or chief risk officer is usually given a mandate to fix monitoring and reporting. A new chief technology officer may review the payments or core systems.

**When the rules change.** MAS publishes consultation papers on proposed changes. A final rule with a start date gives every affected firm a deadline, and a reason to look at vendors.

## The signals that matter

| Signal | Why it matters here | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| [MAS licence granted](/signals/mas-licence-granted/) | The firm must now operate as a regulated business and is choosing its tools and advisers | The [MAS Financial Institutions Directory](https://eservices.mas.gov.sg/fid), compared month by month |
| [New regulated licence](/signals/new-regulated-licence/) or category change | An existing firm adding a licence type or moving to a higher category takes on new obligations and volume | The same directory; a firm can appear under more than one licence type |
| [Funding round](/signals/funding-round/) | New money is usually spent on hiring and on systems that replace manual work | Company announcements, Enterprise Singapore media centre and SGX filings |
| [Hiring for a relevant role](/signals/hiring-relevant-role/) | Ads for compliance officers, AML analysts or MLROs show the firm is building that function | MyCareersFuture, sorted by date and filtered to direct employers |
| [Senior leader appointment](/signals/senior-leader-appointment/) | A new chief compliance, risk or technology officer often reviews vendors early | LinkedIn, company news and SGX announcements |
| [Merger or acquisition](/signals/merger-or-acquisition/) | Combining two firms means merging onboarding, screening and reporting, and choosing one set of tools | SGX announcements and news |
| MAS consultation papers | A proposed rule with a likely start date gives affected firms a planning horizon | The [consultations section of MAS publications](https://www.mas.gov.sg/publications/consultations) |

The directory's size shows why filtering matters. When we checked on 8 October 2026, it listed 245 Major Payment Institutions, 13 Standard Payment Institutions and 1,579 Capital Markets Services Licensees. A monthly comparison inside the two or three categories you sell to is manageable; watching the whole directory is not.

## An example signal, start to finish

**The signal.** A vendor of sanctions screening and transaction monitoring software compares its saved Major Payment Institution list with this month's download and finds a new name: a fictional remittance firm, Lumen Remit. Two weeks later, Lumen advertises for a compliance manager on MyCareersFuture.

**The research.** We open Lumen's directory entry to confirm its licence type and regulated activities, such as cross-border money transfer, read its website for the corridors it serves, check whether it belongs to a larger group, and identify the chief executive the compliance role reports to.

**The first message.** Illustrative example:

> Subject: Screening as Lumen Remit scales
>
> Hi Priya, I saw Lumen Remit now appears in the MAS directory as a Major Payment Institution, and that you are hiring a compliance manager. Congratulations. Remittance firms at this stage often find manual sanctions checks slow down payouts. We provide screening and alert review built for small remittance teams. Would a short walkthrough before your new hire starts be useful?
>
> Regards, Marcus

**The hand-off.** Priya replies that she wants the new compliance manager in the room. The vendor's account executive receives the directory entry, the job ad and a note to propose a date after the hire's start.

## What to avoid

- **Implying MAS approval.** Never suggest your product is endorsed or required by MAS. Mention the listing as a fact.
- **Regulatory scare tactics.** Do not tell a licensee it is at risk of breaching rules. You will not know its position, and the claim damages trust instantly.
- **Assuming every new entry is new to Singapore.** Large groups add licences for existing operations, and their tooling is often chosen at regional or head office level.
- **Underestimating due diligence.** Regulated firms usually assess a vendor's security, data handling and resilience before signing. Have those answers ready before the first call.
- **Looking like a scam.** Fraudsters impersonate financial institutions and their vendors. Write from your own domain, sign with your real name and company, and avoid urgent payment language.
- **Ignoring the outreach rules.** Read our guide to [B2B outreach under the PDPA and DNC rules](/blog/b2b-outreach-pdpa-dnc-singapore/) before calling numbers listed in the directory.

## How we run it

FYAdvisers starts with the licence types and firm sizes your best customers hold, and what changed at those firms just before they bought. That sets the directory categories, job titles and news sources we watch.

We compare the directory on a fixed schedule, monitor hiring and announcements for target firms, research each new account and its decision-maker, and draft a short message tied to the event. You approve every message before it goes, and replies go to your sales team with the research attached.

We report which signals produce replies and which do not, and adjust. We do not promise meetings, reply rates or deals.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I find newly licensed firms in Singapore?

Use the MAS Financial Institutions Directory. It is free, grouped by sector and licence type, and results can be downloaded. We did not find a licence grant date on the institution pages, so the practical method is to save the categories you sell into and compare them month by month.

### Which MAS categories are worth watching for a KYC or payments vendor?

Major and Standard Payment Institutions are the obvious ones for payments and transaction monitoring tools. Capital Markets Services Licensees, filtered by activity such as fund management, suit vendors of compliance, reporting and investor onboarding software.

### Can I mention a firm's MAS licence in my message?

Yes, as a plain fact taken from the directory. Do not suggest MAS endorses your product, and do not tell the firm what MAS requires of it unless you are qualified to advise on that.

### Why does a compliance hire matter to a software vendor?

A new compliance officer is usually asked to build or tidy up monitoring, screening and reporting in their first months. Writing to the person they report to while the role is open, then to the new hire once they settle in, reaches the decision at the right time.