# MAS licence granted > A firm has appeared in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory with a new licence, such as a payment institution or fund manager, and now has to operate to regulatory standards. Source: https://www.fyadvisers.com/signals/mas-licence-granted/ Author: FYAdvisers Last updated: 2026-10-08 - Category: Licensing - Intent: Medium - Act within: 2 to 4 weeks - Where to find it: [MAS: Financial Institutions Directory](https://eservices.mas.gov.sg/fid) (Free) ## What this signal means The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) regulates financial institutions in Singapore and lists them in its Financial Institutions Directory. When a firm appears in a category for the first time, such as Major Payment Institution or Capital Markets Services Licensee, it has been licensed or otherwise brought into that regulated category. A firm can hold more than one licence, and the directory says so. A firm appearing in a new category may be a brand new entrant or an existing institution adding an activity. ## Why it predicts a purchase A licence is the start of operating as a regulated business, not the end of the work. A newly licensed firm usually needs to build out the people, processes and systems that keep it compliant and let it serve customers at scale. Depending on the firm, that can mean compliance staff or outsourced compliance support, audit, legal advice, technology and cyber security, customer onboarding tools, insurance, office space and hiring. The firm also tends to have a clear reason to spend: it has invested in getting licensed and now wants to start earning from it. That said, many new licensees prepared most of this before applying, so we rate it medium intent. It is strongest when what you sell is specific to running a regulated business. ## Where to find it in Singapore - **[MAS Financial Institutions Directory](https://eservices.mas.gov.sg/fid).** Free and public. It lets you find a financial institution, licence type or activity in Singapore. Institutions are grouped by sector: banking, capital markets, financial advisory, insurance and payments. Within each, you can browse licence types such as Major Payment Institution, Standard Payment Institution, Capital Markets Services Licensee, Licensed Financial Adviser and Registered Insurance Broker, each with a live count. Capital markets results can be filtered by activity, for example fund management. Results pages have a "Print/Download List" option. Institution pages we checked show the licence type, a description of it, regulated activities such as cross-border money transfer, and contact details including website, phone and address. We did not find a licence grant date on the institution pages, or a published update schedule, so the practical way to spot new entries is to compare lists over time. ## How to monitor it 1. **Choose your categories.** For example, Major and Standard Payment Institutions, or Capital Markets Services Licensees filtered to fund management. 2. **Download the list** for each category and save it with the date. 3. **Repeat monthly** and compare. New names are your signals. Note the category count on the directory home page, since a change in count is a quick sign that something has changed. 4. **Open each new institution's page** to see its licence type and regulated activities, and visit its website. 5. **Check fit and timing.** A large overseas group adding a Singapore licence buys differently from a small local start-up. ## How to get a list of MAS licensed payment institutions 1. **Open the [MAS Financial Institutions Directory](https://eservices.mas.gov.sg/fid)** and go to the Payments sector. When we checked on 8 October 2026, it showed 245 Major Payment Institutions, 13 Standard Payment Institutions and 230 Money-changing Licensees, among other categories. 2. **Click the licence type you want.** The results page shows the number of results and a "Print/Download List" link. 3. **Open Print/Download List.** It opens a printable table with an export to an Excel (.xls) file, named FID with the date. It is free and needs no login. 4. **Repeat for other categories,** such as Capital Markets Services Licensee, if you sell to fund managers or brokers. 5. **Save each file with the date** and compare it with your next download to find new names. The export has these columns: organisation name, address, phone number, website, sector, licence type or status, activity or business type, and sub-activity or product. MAS notes that a firm with several activities is repeated on several rows, so remove duplicates by organisation name before counting firms. The directory does not show the date a licence was granted, and we did not find a published update schedule, so comparing dated downloads is the practical way to see what is new. The list names businesses, not people. When you look up a person at the firm to write to, read [B2B outreach in Singapore: what PDPA and the Do Not Call rules allow](/blog/b2b-outreach-pdpa-dnc-singapore/) first. ## How fast to act Within two to four weeks of spotting the new entry. If you compare lists monthly, the licence may already be several weeks old, so do not wait for a second confirmation. The early months after licensing are when the firm is setting up processes and deciding who it works with. ## Example first message Illustrative example: > Subject: Your new MAS payment institution licence > > Hi Nadia, I saw Orchid Pay now appears in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory as a Major Payment Institution. Congratulations. The first months after licensing are often when transaction monitoring needs to scale beyond spreadsheets. We help small payment firms set up alert review workflows their compliance teams can audit. Would a 20-minute walkthrough be useful? > > Regards, Benjamin ## Pitfalls and rules - **Not every new entry is new to Singapore.** Check whether the firm already held another licence or is part of a large group. - **Do not imply MAS endorsement.** Mention the listing as a fact, nothing more. - **Be careful with claims about regulation.** Do not tell a licensee what MAS requires of it unless you are qualified to, and never suggest they are at risk of breaching rules. - **Watch out for scams.** MAS warns that scammers impersonate regulated institutions. Make sure your message is plainly from your own business, with your own details. - **Check the outreach rules** in [B2B outreach in Singapore: what PDPA and the Do Not Call rules allow](/blog/b2b-outreach-pdpa-dnc-singapore/). FYAdvisers can track new entries in the MAS directory for your categories through our [signal-based lead generation service](/services/signal-based-lead-generation/). ## Frequently asked questions ### Where can I see which firms MAS has licensed? The MAS Financial Institutions Directory lists regulated financial institutions by sector and licence type, including banks, capital markets services licensees, insurers, financial advisers and payment institutions. It is free to search, and category results can be printed or downloaded. ### Does the directory show the date a licence was granted? Not on the institution pages we checked. To spot new licensees, save a copy of the categories you care about and compare it with a later copy. ### Who should treat a new MAS licence as a buying signal? Firms that sell what a newly regulated business needs: compliance and audit support, legal services, technology and security, outsourced operations, insurance, recruitment and office set-up. For most other sellers, it is a weaker growth signal. ### Where can I get a list of MAS licensed payment institutions? In the MAS Financial Institutions Directory, open the Payments sector and choose Major Payment Institution or Standard Payment Institution. The Print/Download List option exports the list to an Excel file, free, with each firm's address, phone, website, licence type and activities.