Standard Chartered has announced that it has joined Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral payment network that allows its business clients to make cross-border payments between their accounts more quickly and easily.
With a focus on enabling quicker and more affordable cross-border business-to-business (B2B) transactions, the solution will expand and improve the Bank’s current suite of payment offerings.
It will initially launch for Standard Chartered Singapore clients, with additional entities planned to be added to the network in the coming months.
By use of application programming interface (API) connectivity, Standard Chartered and the Visa B2B Connect network will be able to send transactions straight to Visa for additional processing. This will eliminate the need for several intermediaries and the related expenses and delays.
Visa B2B Connect, which is based on Visa’s vast worldwide network, provides multilateral connectivity to all network participants via a single connection with clear deadlines and charges, delivering predictability and cost-effectiveness. Corporates of all sizes who are actively looking for solutions to achieve faster, more secure, and more efficient cross-border payments can benefit from these capabilities.
Philip Panaino, Global Head of Cash at Standard Chartered, said: “We are delighted to build on our existing partnership with Visa to deliver this innovative and future-ready cross-border payment network offering to our clients. We will join as a participant bank and as Visa’s new settlement partner for a set of currencies. In today’s increasingly interconnected world, both corporates and payment networks are constantly looking for solutions and partners that can help them simplify cross-border transactions and improve operational efficiencies, without compromising on security. Our engagement in the Visa B2B Connect network – both as a participant and as a settlement bank – is yet another way we are delivering value to the broader ecosystem as we support corporates on their payments journey.”
“Visa is committed to modernizing cross-border payments around the world and the collaboration with Standard Chartered will extend our network even further,” said Ben Ellis, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Visa B2B Connect at Visa. “We are excited to be partnering with Standard Chartered to simplify and speed up transactions for their clients, cutting out middlemen and reducing costs for a more efficient and secure way to move money globally.”
The Bank will also serve as one of the network’s settlement partners for Visa, facilitating payment flows such as settlement accounts, money transfers, and foreign exchange capabilities for Visa.
Apart from enabling Visa to extend settlement currencies and locations to their participating banks, Standard Chartered’s API solution also supports the network design, enabling smooth payment and auto reconciliation, so network participants can enjoy the transparency of their payment status at any time.
Standard Chartered is the new settlement bank for Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, and there are plans to expand to include the United States. Standard Chartered is presently the settlement bank for Visa B2B Connect in the United Arab Emirates.
Visa’s network and customer experience are further enhanced by the ability to deliver payments started in Singapore Dollars (SGD), United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED), or other settlement currencies to up to 100 currencies due to the Bank’s strong FX liquidity capabilities and market presence.
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