The brokerage arm of Singapore's DBS Bank has received approval "in principle" from the country's financial regulator to begin offering crypto services to asset managers and companies.

DBS Vickers (DBSV) received the go-ahead from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the country's Payment Services Act, according to a press release on Thursday.

In 2019, the city-state passed its payment act, requiring all digital payment service providers to receive licensing to operate.

When its license is granted, DBSV said it will be able to directly support managers and companies via its DBS Digital Exchange (DDex), where they will gain access to its digital payment token services.

DBSV said it is one of the first few among financial institutions to receive such approval from MAS. brokerage arm also said it is working through the necessary steps with a focus on meeting MAS' requirements.

It follows on from DBS having issued a S$15 million (US$11.3 million) digital bond in its first security token offering via DDex which was completed by way of a private placement in May.

"We are pleased to have made steady progress on our digital asset ecosystem in the six months since we launched the DDEx last year," said Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, group head of capital markets at DBS. "We have seen keen interest among asset managers and corporates for access to digital payment token services."

UPDATE (August 13, 2021, 1:22 UTC): Clarifies to state it is the brokerage arm of DBS Bank and not the bank itself that received "in principle" approval.