Singapore · Payments & e-money
World First Asia Pte. Ltd.
World First Asia Pte. Ltd. is a private limited company incorporated in Singapore and part of Ant International's WorldFirst business. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) authorises it as a Major Payment Institution for cross-border money transfer services. MAS also licenses it as a Capital Markets Services licensee for dealing in over-the-counter derivatives contracts. It is the WorldFirst entity for FX forward contracts with Singapore business customers, while a sister company provides the World Account.
Licences and registrations
Held by World First Asia Pte. Ltd. (LEI 549300G1HRHO27VGH361). 1 entry on 1 of the 22 tracked registers, retrieved 25 September 2026.
| Register | Licence | Number | Jurisdiction | Status | Registered | Ends | Activities | Register entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAS Financial Institutions Directory - Major Payment InstitutionMonetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)Linked by LEI. Matched by Elucidate to GLEIF on name, country and address. | Major Payment InstitutionPayment Institution | Not published by the register | Singapore | Active | — | — |
|
Search the register ↗ |
- Licences belong to the legal entity, not to a BIC.
- Each licence applies in the country of the regulator that granted it.
- Registers are tracked in 37 countries. Licences granted elsewhere are not recorded here.
- The register entries and their trading names were not matched against sanctions lists. The sanctions facts on this page cover the BIC and its LEI only.
Swift network
Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory
- BIC
- WFAPSGS1XXX head office
- Connection to Swift
- Passive participant (no connection)This BIC is registered for identification only. The institution has no direct connection to the Swift network. Messages and payments reach it through a correspondent bank. The “1” in the eighth character of WFAPSGS1 marks a passive participant.
- Swift GPI
- Not on the member list
- Payment schemes and systems
- No entry in the EPC registers, the ECB T2 and TIPS lists or the SIX Bank Master cites this BIC
- Branch codes
- None: head-office BIC only
- BIC first registered
- 2018-11-03
- Last updated
- 2024-09-25
Overview
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
Employees
Not published
Ownership
Group subsidiary
ADVANCED NEW TECHNOLOGIES (SINGAPORE) HOLDING PTE. LTD.
Firm type
FX and business payments
Trades as WorldFirst
- Ownership
- GLEIF reports Advanced New Technologies (Singapore) Holding Pte. Ltd. as the firm's direct accounting parent, and the WorldFirst website places the brand within Ant International.
- Direct parent
- ADVANCED NEW TECHNOLOGIES (SINGAPORE) HOLDING PTE. LTD. ↗, Singapore
- Head office
- 128 Beach Road, #20-01 Guoco Midtown, 189773 Singapore, Singapore
- Company register
- ACRA UEN 201229924N
- Incorporated
- 2012
Online
- Websites & references
- worldfirst.com ↗
Wikipedia ↗ group article - Official social accounts
- LinkedIn ↗ · X ↗ · Facebook ↗ · Instagram ↗ · YouTube ↗
Sources · 8 pages consulted
- eservices.mas.gov.sg/fid/institution/detail/200370-WORLD-FIRST-ASIA-PTE-LTD
- worldfirst.com/sg/legal/
- worldfirst.com/sg/compliance/regulatory-information/
- worldfirst.com/global/compliance/regulatory-information/
- worldfirst.com/sg/
- worldfirst.com/sg/forward-contracts/
- worldfirst.com/global/forward-contracts/
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldFirst
Authorisation
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Operates under
- Its own licences
MAS authorises the firm as a Major Payment Institution for cross-border money transfer services. MAS also licenses it to deal in over-the-counter derivatives contracts under the Securities and Futures Act 2001.
| Authority | Licence or registration | Number | Held | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monetary Authority of Singapore Singapore | Major Payment Institution (cross-border money transfer service) | — | In its own name | Active | eservices.mas.gov.sg ↗ |
| Monetary Authority of Singapore Singapore | Capital Markets Services Licence (dealing in capital markets products: over-the-counter derivatives contracts) | — | In its own name | Active | eservices.mas.gov.sg ↗ |
Licences and registrations the research found, at home and abroad, as the firm and its regulators publish them. The Licences and registrations card shows the entries on the registers the directory tracks.
Products and markets
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
It offers FX forward contracts to businesses that need to lock in rates for future commercial payments. The contracts are not available for speculative or personal use.
It serves business customers in Singapore under its MAS licences.
- Sells to
- Small businesses · Enterprises
- Serves customers in
- Singapore
Leadership
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
- Chief executive
- Daniel Chua Bao Xiang Chief Executive Officer
Recent events
Researched 29 Sep 2026 · Sources
The research found no fines, investigations, security incidents, licence changes or corporate events from the last three years.
Compliance-relevant events of the last three years, newest first: fines and enforcement, investigations, security incidents, licence changes, funding rounds, acquisitions and leadership changes. Each links to its source.
Identifiers
Head-office record
- BIC
- WFAPSGS1XXX
- How the BIC breaks down
- WFAPBank
- SGCountry · Singapore
- S1Location · passive
- XXXBranch · head office
- Branch description
- Not recorded in the directory
- LEI
- 549300G1HRHO27VGH361
- LEI record
- View on GLEIF ↗
- How the LEI was matched
- BIC: Mapped to this BIC in the Swift and GLEIF BIC-to-LEI relationship file.Register entry: Matched by Elucidate to GLEIF on name, country and address.
- Register-entry ID
- c1f0b1ed5713
Profile
- Type
- Payments & e-moneyPayment institutions, e-money and stored-value issuers, and account-information providers. Licensed under payment-services law (e.g. PSD2 in the EU and UK, the Payment Services Act in Singapore). Taken from the licences on the tracked registers.
- Regulation
- Prudential licenceAuthorised with capital, safeguarding and conduct requirements, e.g. an authorised payment or e-money institution in the EU or UK, a major payment institution in Singapore, or a MiCA crypto-asset service provider.
- Register licences
- 1 entry on 1 register
- Activities
- Money remittance
- Payment services
- Licensed in
- Singapore
- Website (register)
- www.worldfirst.com/en-sg ↗
- Country · region
- Singapore · East Asia & Pacific
- Trading venues (MIC)
- No MIC registered under this LEI list of 2026-09-17
- OFAC sanctions
- No listing cites this BIC
- EU sanctions
- No listing matched this BIC or its LEI
- Country sanctions
- No country programme
Types come from Swift’s BIC classification, the licences on the 22 tracked registers, and the ECB and FSB bank lists. Most banks outside the euro area appear as financial institutions, because their supervisors’ registers are not tracked yet.
Ownership and group
GLEIF relationship records
- Direct parent
- Advanced New Technologies (Singapore) Holding Pte. Ltd. · Singapore25490098MOHX06IV3G41 ↗
The Advanced New Technologies (Singapore) Holding Pte. Ltd. group has 2 institutions in the directory, in 2 countries: 1 holds a BIC and 1 does not.
Including MultiSafepay B.V..
See the Advanced New Technologies (Singapore) Holding Pte. Ltd. group →Group membership follows the accounting-consolidation relationships reported to GLEIF. It does not show ownership shares or control.
Addresses
- Registered address
- 128 BEACH RD,20-01 GUOCO MIDTOWN OFFICE SINGAPORE 189773 SINGAPORE
- Operational address
- 6 SHENTON WAY OUE DOWNTOWN SINGAPORE SINGAPORE SINGAPORE
ISO 20022 identification
As an agent in a Swift cross-border payment message (CBPR+)
A CBPR+ message identifies this institution by its BIC, and may add its LEI or a clearing code. CBPR+ does not allow a name and postal address next to a BIC.
- Identified by
- BIC, with its LEI
- Roles in CBPR+
- Debtor agent, creditor agent or an intermediary agent
CBPR+
For cross-border payments on Swift: the BIC, with the LEI and clearing code where known
<FinInstnId>
<BICFI>WFAPSGS1XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>549300G1HRHO27VGH361</LEI>
</FinInstnId>Full record
Every ISO 20022 element the directory holds. Base ISO 20022 allows them together. CBPR+ does not allow a name and address next to a BIC
<FinInstnId>
<BICFI>WFAPSGS1XXX</BICFI>
<LEI>549300G1HRHO27VGH361</LEI>
<Nm>WORLD FIRST ASIA PTE. LTD.</Nm>
<PstlAdr>
<TwnNm>SINGAPORE</TwnNm>
<Ctry>SG</Ctry>
<AdrLine>128 BEACH RD, 20-01 GUOCO MIDTOWN OFFICE SINGAPORE 189773</AdrLine>
</PstlAdr>
</FinInstnId>This BIC is not connected to Swift. Messages reach the institution through a correspondent bank, so it cannot be the instructing or instructed agent.
The BIC, name and address are as published in Swift’s BIC directory. The LEI comes from the Swift and GLEIF BIC-to-LEI file. Check them against your own records before use.
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Sources & method
Every value comes from a public source, such as Swift’s ISO 9362 BIC directory, GLEIF or the OFAC and EU sanctions lists. Most sources are matched on a BIC or an LEI, not on a name.
Swift GPI membership is matched on names and is indicative. A missing sanctions match does not mean that no listing applies. Always screen against the official lists.
Register entries are not screened against sanctions lists. The sanctions facts on this page cover the BIC and its LEI only.
An institution is one entry in the directory: a BIC8 in Swift’s directory, or a firm on a tracked register that holds no BIC. Licences held by an institution with a BIC are shown on its page.
Read the methodology →Credits for this page
- MAS Financial Institutions Directory - Major Payment Institution—Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) · register ↗ as at 25 September 2026
- Ownership and group—GLEIF Level 2 relationship records (accounting consolidation), matched by LEI.
- Overview, authorisation, partners, products, leadership and events—researched per institution by an AI model with web search, from the firm's own website, terms and filings, regulators' registers and notices, company registers and news. Licences, partners, figures, people and events link to their source, and each card shows the research date. AI research can be wrong or out of date, so check key facts at the source.
- Images—logos and photos from Wikimedia Commons (credited with their author and licence) or from the institution's own website, where Wikimedia has none. Elucidate keeps a copy of each; the links lead to the source and the original image. Logo: worldfirst.com (official website) · original.
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