Global bank Standard Chartered has announced the release of a Banking as a Service (BaaS) offering. The new service arrives via SC Ventures, the bank’s fintech and innovation subsidiary. SC Ventures was established in 2018 as a new business unit to lead digital innovation.
Standard Chartered is a global bank based in the UK, with the bulk of its revenue coming from the Asia Pacific region and a presence in 53 different markets.
The BaaS is called audax Financial Technology, a digital banking technology solution that is designed to help banks and financial institutions to accelerate their digital transformation. While there are many options for Banktech on the market, few have been launched by old-school banking firms.
audax is a platform that provides an end-to-end digital banking service. Before being introduced the broader market, audax’s solution powered Standard Chartered Nexus or SC Nexus, a white-label plug-and-play BaaS offering for large ecosystem players.
Standard Chartered says it is the first global bank to provide BaaS in Asia. audax is already powering a customer in Indonesia. the company said that SC Nexus will help Sociolla, an e-commerce platform, set up digital banking for their customers. audax will also launch with a third partner in a second market, targeted to launch in Q4 of 2023.
Kelvin Tan, a former Managing Director and Global Head of SC Nexus, has been named as audax’s CEO.
Tan commented on the new service:
“We are excited to push the frontiers of what is considered possible. audax has showcased the potential of BaaS and how it has scaled the digital business for Standard Chartered, enabling them to acquire new-to-bank customers at a fraction of traditional customer acquisition costs. We are now ready to scale it for other banks and financial institutions globally, helping everyone create better value for their business without risking their existing estate.”
