First introduced in Kenya in 2013, Straight2Bank Wallet enables corporations, governments and development organisations to make cashless payments to both banked and unbanked individuals. Especially relevant in emerging markets with large rural areas, mobile wallets provide an efficient and secure alternative to onerous and risk-prone cash payments.

With the introduction of this new payment channel, Standard Chartered’s corporate clients in Ghana can now use the Bank’s Straight2Bank electronic banking platform to make payments directly into an individual’s Airtel Money mobile wallet, regardless of the time. This allows clients to effectively reach out to their beneficiaries with timely payments, while mitigating the risks of fraud and theft associated with cash payments.

Lucy Quist, CEO, Airtel Ghana said, “The Straight2Bank Wallet service is a seamless, safe and instant mode of making single and multiple payments to employees or suppliers in a single batch. Money transferred can be received conveniently on a mobile phone via Airtel Mobile Money. We, at Airtel Ghana are very excited about the service and the partnership with Standard Chartered Bank. As one of the most forward looking financial services in Ghana with a strong commitment to technology, we have no doubt that this partnership will be a great step towards achieving our goal of attaining a cash-lite economy”.

Kweku Bedu-Addo, CEO at Standard Chartered Bank West Africa 2, commented, “In partnership with Airtel, we are proud to be the first bank to introduce mobile wallet services to Ghanaian companies. Mobile wallets not only bring operational and cost efficiencies to our clients, but also mean individuals receive their funds through secure channels – another way we are supporting Ghana’s Central Bank to foster a cash-lite economy.[1]”

Gautam Jain, Global Head of Digitisation and Client Access, added, “We’re committed to making access to financial services simpler, safer and easier for our corporate clients and their beneficiaries. The launch of Straight2Bank Wallet in Ghana is a strong testament to this, and we look forward to bringing greater efficiencies to our clients as we continue to innovate and roll out the platform across our markets in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.”

To date Standard Chartered has delivered the benefits of Straight2Bank mobile wallets to corporates in 10 markets within the Bank’s global footprint, namely Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Airtel Money is an innovative, safe and secure mobile wallet which enables a complete suite of services like money transfer, bill payments, and recharge on the move from a mobile phone. It caters to all segments of the society, from the unbanked to the under banked and to the net-savvy and evolved customers. Today, with a national distribution of over 13,000 registered agents, 500 merchant outlets, 80 Airtel Money shops, 7 Partner banks and over 215 ATMs nationwide in addition to more than 2 million customers, Airtel is one of the leading mobile money providers in Ghana and is playing a vital role in enabling financial inclusion and m-commerce in the country.