Aspire, a Singapore headquartered finance platform, announced that it has received in-principle approval (IPA) for the major payment institution (MPI) licence from the Monetary Authority Singapore (MAS).
Aspire is a finance platform that helps companies with international payments, expense management, payable management and receivable management solutions,
Founded in 2018, Aspire is backed by venture capital (VC) firms such as Sequoia, Lightspeed, Y-Combinator, Tencent and Paypal. In its Series C round of funding in 2023, Aspire raised over US$100 million ($133.4 million), doubling its valuation and achieving profitability just three months after.
Aspire’s clients include AirAsia, Love Bonito, Endowus, Pizza Hut and Tech in Asia.
This announcement comes following Aspire’s acquisition of a money service operator licence in Hong Kong earlier this year.
Andrea Baronchelli, CEO of Aspire, said securing the in-principle approval for the MPI licence from the central bank represented a "significant validation" of Aspire's commitment to "building a robust and secure financial ecosystem for businesses across Asia and beyond".
