The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has directed remittance companies to only collaborate with banks, card network operators like UnionPay International, or licensed financial institutions for transferring funds to China. This directive is effective from January 1, 2024, to March 31, 2024.
This decision comes in response to instances where funds sent to China through remittance companies were frozen in the beneficiaries’ Chinese bank accounts. The majority of these incidents affected Chinese nationals working in Singapore.
To keep transaction costs low for customers, remittance companies engage overseas third-party agents, rather than banks, to complete the remittance from Singapore to China. In the vast majority of cases, the monies sent through these channels are successfully deposited in the beneficiaries’ bank accounts in China.To minimise risks to consumers remitting funds to China, MAS has decided to temporarily suspend the use of non-bank and non-card channels by remittance companies for money transfers to China.
Through a press release, MAS has advised the public to avoid using overseas third-party agents during this period and instead use alternative channels like banks or card networks.
Read more: https://fintechfrontiers.live/google-pays-bnpl-integration-fuels-2024-surge/
