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Ant International has joined forces with Standard Chartered Bank and Swift to trial a new cross-border payments solution that links bank accounts directly to digital wallets, aiming to make global remittances faster and more inclusive.
Swift trial bank-to-wallet payments
The pilot allows Standard Chartered customers to transfer money seamlessly to 36 partner wallets within the Alipay+ ecosystem, which spans 1.7 billion user accounts across Asia and beyond.
The initiative is underpinned by ISO 20022, the international financial messaging standard increasingly adopted worldwide to improve data quality and interoperability in payments.
ISO 20022
Swift’s network of more than 11,500 financial institutions provides the backbone for the service.
By combining this infrastructure with Ant’s global wallet gateway, the partnership seeks to overcome one of the enduring challenges in cross-border finance: bridging the gap between traditional bank accounts and mobile-first wallet platforms popular in emerging markets.
The first live transactions have already been completed between Standard Chartered accounts and partner e-wallets.
While no date has yet been given for a public launch, the companies indicated they intend to expand the service beyond Singapore by the end of the year, adding more banks, wallet providers and use cases.
Michael Spiegel, Standard Chartered’s global head of transaction banking, described the project as “a testament to the versatility of our banking platform and our strategic relationship with both Swift and Ant International”.
He added that the bank would continue to push for innovations that reshape the payments industry while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
Kevin Wong, chief executive for Asia-Pacific at Swift, emphasised the growing demand for diversified payment methods.
“In a world of fast-moving innovation, consumers and businesses expect more choice in their international payments experience. This collaboration reflects our commitment to delivering faster, frictionless transfers across multiple networks,” he said.
Financial Inclusion
Ant International, spun off from Ant Group last year, framed the collaboration as a step towards financial inclusion.
Jacques Xu, the company’s general manager of global remittance, highlighted that Hong Kong’s large community of Filipino domestic workers could particularly benefit, with trials expected to extend to services such as GCash in the Philippines.
By linking banks to wallets on a global scale, the project has the potential to lower remittance costs, improve transparency and broaden financial access for migrant workers and underbanked populations.
It also underlines the strategic importance of ISO 20022 as a common language for global payments, allowing traditional banking networks and fintech platforms to interoperate more effectively.
While still at an early stage, the collaboration between Ant International, Standard Chartered and Swift offers a glimpse of a future where sending money abroad could be as straightforward as moving funds between local accounts.
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