Singapore's central bank says received licence application from Wirecard

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has received a license application from scandal-hit electronics payments firm Wirecard under the country's new Payments Services Act, the central bank said on Tuesday.

It said Wirecard's primary business activities in Singapore are to process payments for merchants and help companies issue pre-paid cards. Wirecard is operating under an exemption until the new law comes into force.

"MAS has required Wirecard to ensure that they keep customer funds arising from these activities in banks in Singapore," the MAS said in response to a query from Reuters but did not specify when it had received the application.