Standard Chartered Bank and Ant Financial Sign MOU

Combining TechFin Capabilities and Banking Expertise to Enable Inclusive Financial Services for Clients along the “Belt & Road Initiative” Route 

Standard Chartered Bank (“SCB”), a leading international banking group with a strong presence in Asia, Africa and Middle East, and Ant Financial Services Group (“Ant Financial”), one of the world’s leading digital financial services providers, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  Under the terms of the MOU, Standard Chartered Bank will combine its banking expertise and insights in emerging markets with Ant Financial’s industry leading TechFin capabilities, to increase access to financial services for clients based in countries along the “Belt & Road Initiative” route.

Standard Chartered Bank has been operating for more than 150 years in some of the world’s fastest growing economies, including many along the “Belt & Road Initiative” route.  With around 1,000 branches and outlets in 65 countries and regions, 69% of its global footprint overlaps with the “Belt & Road” countries. The bank is an industry leader in RMB, SME and Retail financial services, and has been supporting Chinese companies to expand their operations globally with innovative financial products and services.

Ant Financial launched its globalization strategy in 2007. Today, its leading third-party payment and lifestyle platform, Alipay, has more than 520 million active users, working with over 450 financial institutions and providing in-store payment services for Chinese tourists in more than 30 countries and regions. Leveraging the company’s technological know-how and experiences of building a payment solution from scratch, Ant Financial empowers its strategic partners in emerging markets, including India, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia, to provide inclusive financial services, such as e-wallet solutions for local populations.

José Viñals, Chairman of Standard Chartered, remarked: “It is our great pleasure to deepen the strategic partnership with Ant Financial. The MOU marks a new era of the cooperation between the most dynamic TechFin company and the most active international bank in emerging markets. Built on our joint commitment to inclusive financial services, and with the combination of cutting-edge technology and banking expertise, we aspire to explore and make due contributions to broaden access to inclusive financial services along the Belt & Road route.”

“We are excited about the opportunity to further collaborate with Standard Chartered Bank,” said Eric Jing, Chief Executive Officer, Ant Financial Services Group. “With the mission to ‘bring the world equal opportunities’, Ant Financial is dedicated to using technology to make financial services more inclusive on a global scale. This MOU with SCB is an important milestone in our efforts to enable our partners to better service their clients around the world. ”

Standard Chartered Bank has been working together with Ant Financial since 2012, in areas including funding settlement, FX services and Alipay wallet related solutions.

The MOU was signed following the 9th UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, which was held from December 15 to 16 in Beijing, China.

We are a leading international banking group, with over 80,000 employees and a 150-year history in some of the world’s most dynamic markets. We bank the people and companies driving investment, trade and the creation of wealth across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, where we earn around 90 per cent of our income and profits. Our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good.

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.

In China, the Bank set up its first branch in Shanghai in 1858 and has remained in operation throughout the past 158 years. Standard Chartered Bank (China) Limited is one of the first foreign banks to locally incorporate in China in April 2007. This demonstrates the Bank’s commitment to the China market, and its leading position as a foreign bank in the banking industry.  Standard Chartered has one of the largest foreign bank networks in China – with more than 100 outlets across about 30 cities.

Standard Chartered China has been laurelled with a number of awards in 2016, honoring its achievements and endeavors in different areas including Bank Card Innovation Award, Best CSR Award (SiB), Award for Responsible Operations, Best Loan Syndications Performance and Best Syndicated Loan by China Banking Association, Financial Innovation Award (RQDII Custodian Service) by Shanghai Municipal Government, SME Innovation Award by Shanghai Finance Society, CSR Award (SiB) by British and American Chamber of Commerce, MNC/Large Corporate Bank for Treasury and Working Capital Management, Best Liquidity Management Bank by The Asset, Best Bank for small business lending, Best Supply Chain Finance Provider, Best RMB Service, Best FX and Interest Rate Hedging by Global Finance, Product Innovation in the Interbank Market Award by China Business News, Best Bank of SME Service and Best Corporate Citizenship Award by 21st Century Business Herald, Best Global Cash Management Award, Best Supply Chain Finance Award and Best e-Banking Award by CFO World, Best Supply Chain Finance by Trade Finance, Best Foreign Private Wealth Management Business by Asian Banker, Best Bank for Wealth Management Equity Product by Security Times, Best Foreign Bank by the Economic Observer and Outstanding Foreign Bank Award by Jrj.com. For further information please visit www.sc.com

 

Ant Financial Services Group is focused on serving small and micro enterprises, as well as individuals. Ant Financial is dedicated to bringing the world more equal opportunities through building a technology-driven open ecosystem and working with other financial institutions to support the future financial needs of society. Businesses operated by Ant Financial Services Group include Alipay, Ant Fortune, Zhima Credit and MYbank.