Ant International, Standard Chartered and Swift have collaborated to pioneer bank-to-wallet payment solution backed by ISO 20022

• Live trials started between a Standard Chartered Bank account and an e-wallet supported by Alipay+, Ant International’s wallet gateway service, using Swift’s infrastructure

• This development further expands payments optionality across the ecosystem leveraging the benefits of ISO 20022 messaging standards and using Swift’s trusted infrastructure for efficiency, scale, and interoperability

SINGAPORE – Supported by Swift’s trusted infrastructure, Ant International, a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider, and Standard Chartered Bank have launched live production trials for a bank-to-wallet payment solution using the ISO 20022 financial messaging standards. Through Alipay+, the global wallet gateway service under Ant International, the first transactions were completed successfully between a Standard Chartered Bank customer account and a partner e-wallet.

Through simplifying global money transfers, the innovative solution leverages the Swift network of over 11,500 financial institutions in more than 200 countries and territories to connect to 1.7 billion user accounts on the 36 global digital wallets in the Alipay+ ecosystem, especially across fast-growing Asian markets.

Michael Spiegel, Global Head of Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered said: “We are pleased to be the bank of choice to conceptualise, test and deliver this innovation. It is testament to the versatility of our banking platform and our strategic relationship with both Swift and Ant International. We will continue to push the boundaries of finance to shape the future of our industry, securely and in compliance with regulatory requirements.”

Kevin Wong, Chief Executive, Asia Pacific, at Swift, said: “In a world of fast-moving innovation with a growing number of ways to move value, consumers and businesses expect more choice and optionality in their international payments experience. Swift is at the forefront of providing a best-in class experience with greater flexibility and choice. This collaboration with Ant International and Standard Chartered reflects that strategic commitment to faster, frictionless payments across multiple networks. “

“We are very excited to be part of this ground-breaking multilateral collaboration with Swift, banking leaders and Alipay+ e-wallet partners to facilitate bank-to-wallet transactions on a global scale,” said Jacques Xu, General Manager of Global Remittance, Ant International. “Ant International will continue to support such cross-sector collaboration with fintech innovations, to build a more connected payment and financial ecosystem for businesses and consumers with ever higher standards of transparency and security, as part of our focus on promoting global interoperability and inclusion.”

About Ant International
With headquarters in Singapore and main operations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider. Through collaboration across the private and public sectors, our unified techfin platform supports financial institutions and merchants of all sizes to achieve inclusive growth through a comprehensive range of cutting-edge digital payment and financial services solutions.

To learn more, please visit https://www.ant-intl.com

About Alipay+
Ant International’s Alipay+ is a unified wallet gateway with cross-border payment and digitisation services that help connect global merchants to consumers. Consumers enjoy seamless payment, a broad choice of deals and the convenience of digital services using their preferred payment app while travelling abroad. Small and medium-sized businesses may use Alipay+ digital tools to enhance efficiency and achieve omni-channel growth.

About Swift
Swift is a global member owned cooperative and the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services. We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and regulatory compliance.

Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,500 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories. While Swift does not hold funds or manage accounts on behalf of customers, we enable our global community of users to communicate securely, exchanging standardised financial messages in a reliable way, thereby supporting global and local financial flows, as well as trade and commerce all around the world.

As their trusted provider, we relentlessly pursue operational excellence; we support our community in addressing cyber threats; and we continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Our products and services support our community’s access and integration, business intelligence, reference data and financial crime compliance needs. Swift also brings the financial community together – at global, regional and local levels – to shape market practice, define standards and debate issues of mutual interest or concern.

Headquartered in Belgium, Swift’s international governance and oversight reinforces the globally inclusive character of its cooperative structure. Swift’s global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres.