Investors holding positions in financial platforms or overseas brokers with Singapore exposure should note that the Singapore Police Force (SPF) has issued Singapore financial ad rules that bar Facebook, Instagram and TikTok from carrying paid promotions for financial services unless the advertiser holds a local licence or operates under one. Platforms have until 31 January 2027 to comply.
The requirements sit inside a new Code of Practice for Social Media Services, issued on 18 August 2026 under the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA). The SPF issued two further codes at the same time: one covering online messaging and conferencing services, the other an enhanced set of rules for e-commerce platforms including Carousell, Facebook Marketplace and Facebook Business Pages.
What the Singapore Financial Ad Rules Mean for Offshore Brokers
For any overseas broker, crypto firm or trading promoter, the change is direct. Paid access to Singapore users now requires a licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s financial regulator, or a formal authorisation from a MAS-licensed entity. Incorporating offshore does not create an exemption.
The advertiser definition is deliberately wide. Brand owners, merchants, public-relations agencies, influencers, affiliate marketers and other intermediaries all fall within scope when they help create, target, fund or distribute an ad. An offshore broker running a paid campaign through a local agency or creator would pull that intermediary inside the rules unless the underlying advertiser is properly licensed.
One important boundary: the code covers paid content. Organic, unpaid posts about a financial product are not explicitly captured by the advertising restriction.
The backdrop to the rules is bleak in numbers. SPF data for 2025 show that social-media platforms accounted for about 30% of reported scam cases, with Facebook alone responsible for about 18%. Total scam losses across Singapore reached approximately S$913.1 million in 2025, of which cryptocurrency-related losses accounted for about S$182.2 million, or about 20.0% of the total. Overall scam and cybercrime cases fell 24.8% to 41,974 in 2025, but TikTok bucked the trend: its scam case count rose 37.8% year-on-year, the only major platform to record an increase while Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram and Carousell all fell.
The picture in early 2026 showed further improvement overall, though Meta platforms combined still accounted for 34.1% of all platform-reported scam cases in the first half of 2026, even as total scam cases fell 14.4% to 16,821 and total losses fell 17.9% to about S$410.6 million in that period.
Platform Duties: Pre-Publication Screening and 24-Hour Takedowns
The code goes beyond who can advertise. Platforms must review all ads intended for Singapore users before publication, checking for URL cloaking, monitoring embedded links for changes during an ad’s active period and screening for indicators including unrealistic investment returns, impersonation of legitimate entities, redirects to unverified sites and pressure tactics.
Advertiser verification must be done against government-issued records, covering business-registration documents and identity documents where applicable. Suspected scam ads already live must be taken down promptly. User reports must be acted on within 24 hours, specified account data retained for at least 90 days and an annual implementation report filed covering detection systems, emerging tactics and effectiveness metrics.
The messaging code covers seven designated services: WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat, Apple iMessage, Apple FaceTime, Google Messages and Google Meet. One requirement, relating to spoofing of the Singapore Government, carries an earlier deadline of 30 September 2026, ahead of the general 31 January 2027 cut-off for the remaining obligations.
Singapore is not acting alone. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) removed more than 19,400 online scams in FY 2026, up 182% from the prior year, according to ASIC’s own media release.
Penalties: What Exists Now and What Is Proposed
The current penalty regime is meaningful but not severe. Under OCHA’s existing framework, failure to comply with a Rectification Notice carries a maximum fine of S$1 million, followed by up to S$100,000 for each day the breach continues after conviction.
A proposed amendment, introduced in Parliament but not yet enacted, would raise the ceiling sharply. Each instance of non-compliance with a code or implementation directive could attract a fine of up to S$10 million (roughly $7.83 million), plus up to S$300,000 for each day a continuing offence persists. The government expects to provide further detail at the bill’s second reading in September.
The OCHA Office retains discretion to calibrate duties according to the scam risk posed by each service and may grant full or partial waivers. OTP Law Corporation notes that the three new codes build on measures first introduced in June 2024, which SPF credits with helping reduce scam cases on designated platforms by about 37% between 2024 and 2025.
For brokers or fund promoters considering paid campaigns in South-East Asia, the January 2027 deadline is the date to plan backwards from. Platforms will need to reject unlicensed ads before they go live, meaning any advertiser without a MAS licence or a licensed local partner will find the paid channel closed well before enforcement formally begins.
