Standard Chartered (LON: STAN) and one of the “largest” merchant acquirers, Worldpay from FIS, have announced a strategic partnership “to expand the market coverage of, and enable new capabilities on, Straight2Bank Pay, the Bank’s one-stop digital collections gateway for merchants.”
This global partnership is considered to be “a testament to Standard Chartered’s continued investment in its cash management solutions via innovation and partnerships to deliver value-added solutions to meet its clients’ digital aspirations.”
The collaboration “leverages the strengths of both organizations to deliver a comprehensive suite of digital collections solutions that caters to the evolving needs of businesses, enabling them to collect funds from a wider range of payment methods including cards and alternative payment methods (for example, e-wallets and bank transfers).”
It also allows Straight2Bank Pay “to further grow its footprint across Asia, as well as enter into new markets across Europe, Middle East, UK and the US, and support more merchants in facilitating seamless payments experiences for their consumers.”
Phil Pomford, General Manager for Global eCommerce, APAC, Worldpay from FIS, said:
“Businesses and consumers globally continue to cement their preference for seamless digital payment methods. We are thrilled to partner with global banking leader, Standard Chartered, to deliver our advanced acquiring solutions and set the standard for smarter, frictionless payments across the globe. Standard Chartered will take advantage of the global reach of Worldpay from FIS and its ability to provide speed and convenience for merchants to accept the preferred payment methods from their customers. Together, we can drive new growth opportunities and fuel smarter commerce for merchants on Straight2Bank Pay regardless of geography.”
Philip Panaino, Global Head of Cash, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered, said:
“With the global e-commerce market expected to reach USD8.53 trillion by 20261, businesses need to adapt at speed to both the evolving digital payments landscape as well as their consumers’ preferred payment options. Straight2Bank Pay was designed to tackle this challenge by allowing our clients to offer their customers more digital payment options without the need for multiple integrations and managing different collection accounts, and we’re delighted that our strategic partnership with Worldpay can further our reach to even more markets across the Bank’s footprint, as well as provide an expanded range of payment capabilities. With a common vision to simplify the payment experience for businesses, we look forward to supporting more businesses on their digital payments journey, so that they in turn can meet their customers’ needs in a more seamless, efficient, and secure way.”
Standard Chartered is “serving the growing need for efficient digital collections among corporates through direct connectivity to instant payment schemes across its key footprint markets, along with partnerships with leading payment service providers and fintech players.”
Since its inception, Straight2Bank Pay has “seen a steady growth in its client base across various industries, with transaction value more than doubling from 2021 to 2022 and transaction volume growing more than three-fold over the same period.”