Following the in-principle approval earlier this year, Tazapay Pte. Ltd. (“Tazapay”) a leading fintech company specialising in cross-border payments, is delighted to announce the attainment of a Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The approval from MAS further underpins Tazapay’s commitment to robust regulatory compliance and operational excellence.

Singapore, known as a hub for international trade and commerce, offers the perfect vantage point for Tazapay to expand its reach and impact across Asia and beyond. The MPI licence allows Tazapay to extend its full suite of services, spanning account issuance, merchant acquisition, cross-border and domestic money transfers, and e-money issuance, to its growing client base.

Rahul Shinghal, CEO of Tazapay, shares his excitement, “Receiving this licence from MAS is a remarkable milestone in our journey. It not only signifies our commitment to delivering the highest standards of regulatory compliance but also paves the way for us to provide even more innovative and mission-critical cross-border payment solutions. As a Singapore-born and headquartered company, we view this achievement with immense pride and gratitude.”

Even amidst a challenging tech winter, Tazapay continues to demonstrate resilience and an unwavering commitment to growth. The MPI licence acts as a catalyst for a host of forthcoming initiatives dedicated to augmenting the quality, security and user-friendliness of Tazapay’s services. Coupled with the successful closing of our series A funding of USD 16.9 Million, Tazapay is better positioned than ever to transform the way cross-border e-commerce merchants operate especially in sectors such as travel, education technology, fashion & apparel, gifting and gaming.

With this milestone, Tazapay is ready to redefine cross-border transactions, offering a seamless and secure payment experience to businesses in the vibrant e-commerce space. The journey continues, and Tazapay remains dedicated to its mission of making global payments as smooth and frictionless as possible.

About Tazapay

Tazapay is a Singapore-based fintech company, designed to redefine the cross-border payment experience. Since its inception in 2021 by industry veterans, Tazapay has raised a successful $16.9 million Series A funding round, with significant investment from prestigious institutions such as Sequoia and the PayPal Alumni Fund. The platform allows businesses to transact with ease in 173+ countries, offering an array of card and local payment options. Its unified interface simplifies the onboarding process, allowing businesses to partner with just one entity, thereby streamlining their payment process. Tazapay continues to drive global business growth by offering a trusted and accessible platform for cross-border e-commerce transactions.

• Headquarters will be a hub for business expansion across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa
• Nium affirms long-term commitment to Singapore, announcing new initiatives to drive growth of ‘BizTech’ job category

Nium, the leader in real-time global payments, today celebrated the opening of its new headquarters in Singapore. The ceremony was officiated by Mr. Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore. The state-of-the-art facility, located strategically at Capital Tower in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District, has been purpose-built for modern work, featuring collaborative workspaces and employee-centric amenities.

The new headquarters is Nium’s strategic hub for serving clients across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. Co-Founder and COO at Nium, Mr. Pratik Gandhi, will continue to be based out of Singapore. The new headquarters will be overseen by Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Anupam Pahuja, who joined Nium recently as its Executive Vice President and General Manager for Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. His experience scaling global companies, including PayPal, will help continue Nium’s strong momentum after a year in which it grew net revenue globally by more than 2.5X (from 2021 to 2022).

With this new opening, Nium is reaffirming its commitment to building in Singapore and is introducing initiatives to serve the regional fintech community at large. It will partner with the public and private sector to establish a centre of excellence in Singapore for the hiring, training, mentoring, and developing of ‘BizTech’ talent – a new job category that serves to recognise the growing importance of both technical proficiency and business acumen.

Secondly, Nium is expanding Bolt, its global fintech accelerator. Bolt provides startup founders with access to facilities, funding, mentoring, and technology to establish and grow their business ideas in the fintech space. The program, founded in Singapore, will be extended to San Francisco, California, and will serve Singaporean companies looking to establish a foothold in the United States of America.

Prajit Nanu, Co-Founder and CEO at Nium, said, “When I started Nium, I had big dreams for what it could be – none of which would have been possible without the support of the government, investors, and clients that are part of the thriving fintech community in Singapore. This headquarters will be home to our growing regional team and the door will always remain open for entrepreneurs looking to solve the next set of global challenges with innovation.”

Nium’s selection of Singapore for its headquarters is a resounding testament to the flourishing fintech landscape within the country. With its supportive economic policies, access to top talent, and strategic location, Singapore provides the perfect launchpad for Nium’s innovative solutions.

Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Enterprise Singapore, Mr. Jeffrey Siow, added, “It has been exciting to see Nium, a home-grown fintech company, grow from strength-to-strength in the last decade. The opening of Nium’s new headquarters in Singapore is a testament of their continued commitment to Singapore. We look forward to continue partnering with Nium as they scale up and extend their reach globally.”

The unveiling of the new office follows Nium’s recognition as a Great Place to Work Certified™ employer, re-affirming its status as an exemplary global workplace. This esteemed certification, sought after by organisations worldwide, is uniquely based on the firsthand experiences of team members, providing an accurate reflection of the consistently high-trust environment they enjoy. Nium was also listed on the prestigious Forbes Fintech 50 – a collection of the most innovative companies in financial technology.

About Nium

Nium was founded on the mission to build the global payments infrastructure of tomorrow, today. With the onset of the on-demand economy, its single platform for global payments and card issuing is shaping how banks, fintechs, and businesses everywhere to disburse and collect funds instantly across borders. Its payout network supports 100 currencies and spans 190+ countries, 100 of which are in real-time. Funds can be disbursed to accounts, wallets, and cards and collected locally in 35 markets. Nium’s growing card issuance business is already available in 34 countries. Nium holds regulatory licences and authorizations in more than 40 countries, enabling seamless onboarding, rapid integration, and compliance – independent of geography. The company is co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, with regional offices in over 20+ major cities.

dtcpay, a Singapore-based digital payments platform, announced it has raised USD16.5M in a pre-Series A funding round. One of Singapore’s most influential conglomerate family business owners, Mr Kwee Liong Tek, Chairman of Pontiac Land Group, led this round. The funding will further invest in product development, building more robust operations / infrastructure capabilities, and expanding dtcpay’s global presence.

dtcpay provides seamless conversion of fiat and digital currencies in a single platform by a regulated trusted provider. This enables merchant businesses to grow their customer base by accepting more payment types with a quick and easy settlement process. Consumers have gravitated towards the simplicity of QR code payments, enabling more choices for their preferred payment method to be used. dtcpay’s vision is to streamline the payment experience making it easy for consumers to interact with digital currencies bridging the gap between traditional businesses to web3.

Mr Kwee Liong Tek, Chairman of Pontiac Land Group, led dtcpay’s pre-Series A funding round, highlighting the promising future of digital payments. Pontiac Land Group is a luxury real estate developer, owner and operator of properties including Capella Hotel Group and Millenia Singapore which includes the Ritz-Carlton and Conrad Hotels in Singapore. The Group’s assets under management is in excess of SGD10 billion across hospitality, mixed-used, commercial and residential developments spanning across Singapore, New York, Sydney and the Maldives. The other investors in this funding round include David Tung, former Managing Director/ Partner of The Carlyle Group, Jean Marc Poullet Chairman Asia, BURGESS and ex Senior Partner, McKinsey & Co, Tham Sai Choy former KPMG Singapore and Asia Pacific Chairman.

“dtcpay has demonstrated remarkable growth prospects and aligns with our investment strategy” says John Tay, representing Mr Kwee’s investment vehicle.  “From the moment we met with the dtcpay team, we saw their commitment to the regulated financial markets as fully licensed payments provider that could integrate well with our international portfolio of leading hospitality brands bringing them into the web3 economy”

In 2023, the company rebranded to dtcpay and appointed Kanny Lee as Group CEO with market expansion goals that tap into areas such as cross-border payments and to serve nascent web3 businesses.

“It’s not often you see a generational shift into a global digital economy where businesses increasingly interact with their customers online or offline with use of digital currencies.” says Kanny Lee. “At dtcpay, we are excited about the prospect of working with globally renowned hospitality brands to open the door to their customers for digital payments. With the support of Mr. Kwee and our other investors, we are well positioned to quickly access overseas markets with reputable partners providing us strong governance”

dtcpay is a leading payment service provider headquartered in Singapore that offers reliable payment processing while transacting across both fiat and digital currencies. dtcpay was founded in 2019 by Alice Liu and her classmate who met while studying at the National University of Singapore.

As a licensed Major Payment Institution (MPI) regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), dtcpay has become a trusted partner for businesses entering the digital economy.

About Mr Kwee Liong Tek, 

Mr Kwee Liong Tek is the Chairman of Pontiac Land Group, a privately held luxury real estate developer, owner and operator in Singapore. The group’s assets span hospitality, mixed-use, commercial and residential developments in Singapore, New York, Sydney and the Maldives, including the leading hospitality management company Capella Hotel Group as a wholly owned subsidiary.

About dtcpay

dtcpay is a regulated payment service provider that offers reliable solutions for merchants to grow revenues with increased acceptance rates across fiat and cryptocurrency. Our client’s benefit from frictionless payment experiences, whether they are interacting with our POS+ terminal in-store or via ecommerce online. dtcpay was recognized as the best cryptocurrency payment company by APAC Insider and selected for the Mastercard Start Path program

Founded in 2019 in Singapore, dtcpay is a licensed Major Payment Institution (MPI) under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) with services offered offered including Account Issuance, Domestic Money Transfer, Cross-Border Money Transfer, Merchant Acquisition, E-money Issuance and Digital Payment Token (DPT) services.