Ant International, Swift, and Standard Chartered have partnered to test a new bank-to-wallet payment solution. The move aims to make cross-border digital transactions faster and easier while expanding financial access for millions of users.
Trial Results
The initial production trials showed successful transfers between a Standard Chartered customer account and a partner e-wallet through Alipay+, Ant International’s cross-border payments service. The solution uses ISO 20022 messaging standards and Swift’s global network to enable seamless communication across different systems.
Swift’s infrastructure, which connects more than 11,500 financial institutions in over 200 countries, allows the initiative to reach approximately 1.7 billion user accounts. These accounts are spread across the 36 global e-wallets supported by Alipay+.
Building on Partnerships
This trial builds on earlier collaborations. Ant International and Standard Chartered recently launched a partnership to improve foreign exchange and treasury services. By combining Standard Chartered’s Falcon and Ant’s SCALE platforms, the two firms created a new FX management solution.
Ant International has also worked with BNP Paribas to expand cross-border payments in Europe. That collaboration introduced Alipay+ services to BNP’s network of merchants and consumers, while also exploring tokenised deposit technologies for global treasury management.
Why It Matters
The joint effort highlights the importance of partnerships between fintech firms and traditional banks. By leveraging Swift’s trusted network, Ant International’s digital wallet expertise, and Standard Chartered’s global banking footprint, the initiative promises broader access to low-cost, efficient payments.
For consumers, this means quicker and simpler ways to move money across borders. For banks and merchants, it signals the growing role of digital wallets in the global financial ecosystem.
As demand for cross-border payments grows, solutions like this demonstrate how Ant International, Swift, and Standard Chartered are shaping the future of digital finance.
