Standard Chartered Partners with Wise Platform to Transform Cross-Border Payments in Asia and the Middle East

Standard Chartered has partnered with Wise Platform to power faster and cheaper international money transfers for its SC Remit customers across Asia and the Middle East.

The partnership enables Standard Chartered customers to send funds in 21 currencies, including USD, GBP, EUR, and AED, with near real-time delivery in many corridors. Wise Platform provides the cross-border payment infrastructure, while Standard Chartered manages the customer relationship and regulatory compliance in each market.

The collaboration represents one of the most significant bank-fintech cross-border payment partnerships of 2024, combining a global bank's distribution reach and regulatory licences with Wise's specialised payment network that connects to local payment systems in destination markets worldwide.

For Standard Chartered's customers in Asia and the Middle East, the partnership delivers a meaningful improvement in transfer speed and cost. Traditional correspondent banking routes for international transfers can take one to three business days and involve fees at multiple points in the chain. Wise's infrastructure enables direct connections to local payment systems, reducing both time and cost.

Standard Chartered's SC Remit service targets the substantial expatriate populations in its Asian and Middle Eastern markets, where cross-border remittances are a high-frequency financial service. The UAE alone is one of the world's largest remittance-sending markets, with millions of residents regularly transferring money to home countries.

Wise Platform has been rapidly expanding its roster of bank partners, with Standard Chartered joining a growing list of major financial institutions that have chosen to integrate Wise's infrastructure rather than build competing capabilities internally.