Standard Chartered has aligned its cash management offering with WeChat's online payment gateway, giving corporate merchant customers access to 800 million consumers in China.
The QR based connection with WeChat Pay will help Standard Chartered's Chinese clients harness the growth in e-commerce and alternative payment methods, says the bank, a market which is expected to reach $2.4 trillion globally by 2019.
Sam Xu, head, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered China says: “The newly launched service offers a single WeChat gateway connected to multiple online payment channels, providing a one-stop shop for corporate clients’ online portals. It simplifies the work of corporate treasurers with fewer accounts to manage, while effectively improving cash flow and working capital.”
In addition to simplifying receivables management, the TenCent connection allows for corporate merchants to customise the online checkout and secure transactional data.
Gautam Jain, global head, digitisation and client access, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered says merchants will also be able to save on technical equipment as the payment QR code can be easily generated on a webpage, printed material or an email, while reaching more consumers on the go.
"This demonstrates our commitment to work with leading industry players to offer innovative digital solutions in a continuously evolving landscape,” he adds.
First launched in China, Jain says Standard Chartered will be looking to expand the service to other markets across its footprint in 2017.