Consumer protection

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The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2003 gives consumers remedies against suppliers who engage in unfair practices, including misleading representations, taking advantage of a consumer's inability to understand the transaction and the specific practices listed in the Second Schedule.¹ A consumer is an individual who acquires goods or services otherwise than exclusively in the course of a business, which covers a retail crypto customer. The Act's practical reach is limited by the S$ 30,000 cap on claims brought in the Small Claims Tribunals under it and by the exclusion of financial products regulated under certain MAS-administered Acts.²

More important in practice are the MAS business-conduct rules for licensed providers, which prohibit credit to retail customers, incentives, and certain forms of marketing, and require risk-awareness assessments before a retail customer may trade (Part K, Chapter III). Those rules are enforced by MAS and do not themselves give the customer a cause of action. A customer who suffers loss after a breach of them has a claim only if the breach also amounts to a breach of contract, a misrepresentation or a tort. The Misrepresentation Act 1967 gives a right to rescind and to damages for negligent misrepresentation, which is the usual route where marketing material overstated the safety of a product.³

Notes

Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2003, ss 4 (unfair practices), 6 (consumer's right of action) and Second Schedule. ↩
Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2003, s 6 and the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) (Regulated Financial Products and Services) Regulations. ↩
Misrepresentation Act 1967, s 2(1). ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Of Counsel, KGP Legal LLC

I am Of Counsel with KGP Legal LLC in Singapore, where I work with a global client base of successful entrepreneurs and their families, independent asset managers, commodity trading houses and other commercial clients. I am a German and Swiss attorney-at-law, also admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales and in Hong Kong. I divide my time between Zug in Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Since 2017 I have advised international clients on more than 700 crypto and digital asset projects. I also have extensive experience in cross-border litigation and arbitration in Singapore, Hong Kong and other markets in South-East Asia and Greater China.

I operate across the key financial centres in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Switzerland, with a particular focus on asset protection, international tax and estate planning, as well as trusts, company administration and other fiduciary services. My philosophy is to serve as a trusted advisor working closely with my clients and to help them achieve their commercial objectives.

All Singapore law advice is provided through KGP Legal LLC, an established and duly licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors.

KGP Legal LLC is a medium-sized law firm in Singapore that is capable of providing the full range of legal services and corporate administration work. Please contact me directly at [email protected] if you need any further information.

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SingaporeIQ is edited by Dr Alexander Ressos, an international business lawyer with more than 15 years of local experience in Singapore as a permanent resident, a Singapore registered foreign lawyer and managing partner of a Singapore foreign law practice. In addition to significant experience in cross-border investments and transactions, UHNWI private client work and sanctions/export controls, Dr Ressos has extensive experience in cross-border business and in crypto and digital-asset projects in Singapore, drawn from more than 700 projects since 2017.

If you are planning a company incorporation, an investment, a holding structure or a market entry through Singapore, you can reach Dr Ressos directly at [email protected]. Singapore law advice is provided by KGP Legal LLC, a licensed firm of Singapore advocates and solicitors. As a Singapore law practice, KGP Legal LLC is authorised under the Legal Profession Act 1966 to advise on Singapore law and to represent clients before the Singapore courts; foreign law practices with an office in Singapore are, as a rule, not permitted to do either. Dr Ressos and his team facilitate the full range of Singapore legal, compliance and company administration services, including company incorporation, corporate transactions, commercial contracts, crypto and digital assets, financial regulatory work and dispute resolution, including litigation in the Singapore courts. For legal, tax and fiduciary services in Switzerland, see helveticaregister.com.