The MAS AML/CFT Notices are regulatory instruments issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) that prescribe mandatory rules and standards for anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) across Singapore’s financial system.
These Notices, together with accompanying Guidelines, translate Singapore’s AML/CFT laws (like the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act and related statutes) into actionable compliance obligations. Through these Notices, MAS defines what financial institutions, digital payment token service providers, trust companies, insurers, and others must do to manage risk, perform due diligence, monitor transactions, report suspicions, and undergo audit and supervision.
Legal Basis & Purpose
MAS issues AML/CFT Notices under its regulatory authority over financial institutions and specified nonbank entities to ensure the robustness, consistency, and enforceability of AML/CFT controls.
The Notices aim to:
Provide clear, binding rules that bridge high-level legislative requirements and day-to-day operational controls;
Promote harmonised expectations across sectors (banks, insurers, payment services, capital markets, etc.) to reduce regulatory arbitrage;
Enable MAS to supervise, assess, and enforce compliance more effectively, by having measurable standards against which institutions are judged.
Recent revisions to the Notices (effective 1 July 2025) reflect MAS’s intention to align with evolving global standards, including explicitly incorporating proliferation financing (PF) into the remit of AML risk assessments.
Scope & Entities Covered
The MAS AML/CFT Notices apply broadly across Singapore’s regulated financial sector, and have been extended over time to cover newer business models.
Financial Institutions & Traditional Entities
Banks, merchant banks, finance companies, insurers (life and non-life), capital markets intermediaries, financial advisers, and trust companies must comply with the Notices. These entities must observe AML/CFT requirements in customer onboarding, ongoing monitoring, suspicious reporting, internal audit, and record-keeping.
Payment Service Providers & Digital Token Services
Under MAS’s Notices, Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and Digital Token Service Providers (DTSPs, also called DPT/crypto service providers) are explicitly regulated. MAS Notice PSN02 is particularly relevant: it outlines requirements for PSPs and DPT/crypto services in areas such as customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring, record keeping, and screening.
Market Operators & Organised Markets
In March 2024, MAS proposed a new Notice addressing Organised Market Operators — entities running exchanges or trading platforms, requiring them to conduct AML/CFT checks on non-financial participants trading directly (i.e. without intermediaries). This closes a potential gap where unregulated actors might exploit market infrastructure.
Variable Capital Companies (VCCs)
The Notices and Guidelines also extend to VCCs (a corporate vehicle widely used in Singapore funds), ensuring that fund structures adhere to AML/CFT obligations consistent with underlying financial institutions.
Key Obligations Imposed
MAS’s Notices articulate a wide range of obligations that regulated entities must satisfy, emphasizing risk sensitivity, timeliness, and enforceability.
Risk Assessment & Due Diligence
Institutions must perform enterprise-wide ML/TF risk assessments, now explicitly including proliferation financing (PF) risks. These assessments should inform controls and resource allocation. For higher-risk relations, firms must apply enhanced due diligence (EDD) including deeper source-of-wealth and background investigation.
For legal arrangements ( trusts, foundations, etc.), MAS has expanded the concept of “trust-relevant parties” and imposed more robust identification requirements — including protectors, classes of beneficiaries, and persons with power under the arrangement.
Transaction Monitoring & Reporting
Continuous transaction monitoring is mandatory, with systems alerting on anomalies or red flags. Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) must be filed promptly. Under the revised Notices, MAS clarifies that STRs should not exceed five business days for typical cases, and one business day in cases involving sanctions or PF risks.
Additionally, screening obligations include leveraging name lists of designated persons and entities under UN and Singapore’s list, which MAS publishes and updates for entities to subscribe.
Internal Controls, Governance & Audit
Institutions must maintain internal policies, controls, training, and independent audit or testing of their AML/CFT functions. MAS requires audit units to assess effectiveness, especially in high-risk areas. A MAS reminder in 2024 emphasised that AML/CFT audits must be adequate in scope, frequency, and resourcing.
Senior management oversight is expected: MAS has enforced penalties on firms for failures attributable to weak governance, inadequate source-of-wealth checks, or weak escalation procedures.
Record-Keeping & Documentation
Regulated entities must retain customer due diligence data, transaction logs, internal investigation records, and audit documentation for prescribed periods (typically at least 5 years). They must also document decisions made, risk assessments applied, and escalation rationale. The Notices and Guidelines reinforce the need for traceability and transparency in compliance actions.
Recent Revisions & Emerging Trends
To keep pace with evolving threats and international standards, MAS has recently updated its AML/CFT Notices and Guidelines. These revisions came into force on 1 July 2025 and introduced key changes across Singapore’s financial sector.
One major change is the formal inclusion of proliferation financing (PF) within the definition of money laundering risk, making PF assessments a mandatory component of ML/TF risk frameworks.
Another change strengthens timelines for STR filing, especially in sanction or PF contexts, and tightens due diligence requirements on trusts and legal arrangements.
MAS has also signalled increased regulatory enforcement: in 2025 it imposed significant fines and revoked licenses across firms for AML/CFT breaches, especially in risk assessment, monitoring, and timely reporting.
Looking forward, MAS is likely to focus more on integrating digital risks, crypto / token service providers, data analytics, real-time monitoring, and cross-border cooperation.
Why MAS AML/CFT Notices Matter
The MAS AML/CFT Notices serve as the operational backbone of Singapore’s AML/CTF regime. They translate broad legislative mandates into precise, enforceable obligations. Because Singapore is a key global finance and fintech hub, compliance with these Notices is essential for firms seeking credibility, regulatory certainty, and business sustainability.
By setting common expectations and strong supervisory backing, MAS reduces ambiguity and encourages consistent compliance across banks, payment services, capital markets, and digital finance. Imports and investments into Singapore frequently look at AML/CTF strength, MAS’s clear standards send a signal of regulatory rigor and reliability.
The 2025 updates further strengthen Singapore’s position by aligning with the most recent FATF standards, closing gaps in proliferation financing, and incentivising better detection and deterrence of financial crime.
Strengthen Your Singapore AML/CFT Compliance Framework
To comply effectively with MAS’s AML/CFT standards, institutions should build systems capable of dynamic risk assessment (including PF risk), robust ongoing monitoring, quick reporting, and full internal audit capacity.
Adopting advanced Watchlist Management, Customer Screening, and Transaction Monitoring tools that align with MAS’s Notice requirements will help firms operationalise compliance, maintain auditability, and stand up to supervisory scrutiny in Singapore.
Contact Us Today To Strengthen Your AML/CFT Compliance Under MAS’s Standards
