Moolahgo Secures In-Principle Approval from MAS to Launch Merchant Acquisition Services

Moolahgo Pte Ltd, a multi-award-winning Singapore  FinTech and licensed Major Payment Institution, is pleased to announce that it has  received In-Principle Approval (IPA) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to  add Merchant Acquisition service to its license. 

Unlike traditional acquirers, however, Moolahgo is redefining what payment  acceptances mean in the age of borderless, real-time commerce focusing on delivering  innovative payment methods to merchants and consumers.  

“We’re not here to offer yet another card payment gateway. Our vision is to power  payments that are innovative, cross-border, and seamlessly embedded into a  merchant’s treasury flows,” said John Hakim, CEO of Moolahgo. “With Agentic AI  capabilities and local rails across the region, we’re building an acquiring layer that’s  genuinely differentiated.” 

A Smarter Way to Pay  

Moolahgo’s new Merchant Acquisition offering will:  

• Enable acceptance of local payment methods across borders  
• Power automated FX conversion and proactive currency exposure management  • Connect directly into Moolahgo’s powerful treasury dashboard to synchronize  multicurrency, omnichannel cashflows  
• Prepare merchants for the future world of Agentic AI payments  

This positions Moolahgo as not just a payment processor, but as a financial  infrastructure layer for SMEs, digital merchants, and regional platforms.  

Next–Gen Payment Acceptance for an AI Future  

Moolahgo was recognised at the Singapore FinTech Festival in 2023 with a Global  FinTech Award for its Agentic AI payments innovation, “Shizu”. Shizu, a fully agentic AI  payments assistant, processes payment instructions, including complex FX  conversions, through popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram.  

Moolahgo’s early launch of this capability in 2023 firmly places it ahead of the curve, as  other major industry players, including leading schemes, only began announcing  comparable AI-powered payment initiatives in 2025.  

This latest IPA milestone builds on that track record of innovation leadership. When  approved, Moolahgo will be authorised to conduct 6 out of the 7 payment services  regulated under the MAS Payment Services Act, placing it among the most  comprehensively regulated FinTech institutions in the country.  

* An in-principle approval (IPA) in respect of a licence variation application reflects MAS’  view that the applicant’s licence variation application may be approved upon the  fulfilment of specified conditions and provided there are no material adverse  developments affecting the applicant. An IPA does not constitute an approval for  Company to provide merchant acquisition service at this juncture. MAS reserves the  right to rescind the IPA in circumstances where it considers appropriate.