Regulations for Sale of WorldCoin Accounts to Third Party Agents for Monetary Incentives

Miss Rachel Ong asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether there are regulations in place relating to the sale of WorldCoin accounts to third party agents for monetary incentives; (b) what are the implications of such accounts being sold to a third party; and (c) whether there is a risk of these accounts being used for money laundering or fraudulent transactions.

My response will cover the question raised by Miss Rachel Ong in today’s Order Paper, as well as Mr Derrick Goh’s1 filed for the Sitting on or after 10 September. The Payment Services Act 2019 (PS Act) prohibits persons who are unlicensed or not exempted from providing a payment service under the PS Act. Based on information provided to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Worldcoin does not perform a payment service under the PS Act. However, persons who buy or sell Worldcoin accounts and tokens as a business may be providing a payment service.

The Police are investigating seven subjects for their suspected involvement in offering the services of buying or selling of Worldcoin accounts and tokens, which constitute offences under the Payment Services Act 2019. The Police have also issued a press release on 7 August 2024 to advise members of the public against giving away or selling their Worldcoin accounts, which may then be misused for criminal activities, such as money laundering and terrorism financing.

On data privacy, the Personal Data Protection Commission, under the Personal Data Protection Act, governs the collection, use, disclosure and care of personal data by organisations in Singapore. Organisations that handle such data, including biometric data, must ensure they put in place the necessary data protection and security arrangements to address the risks involved when designing and operating their systems and processes.

Consumers should beware inducements to transfer access of their digital payment token wallet or World ID as these accounts could be misused by third parties. We caution consumers against doing so.