Wise Announces Partnership with Standard Chartered To Improve Cross-Border Payments

Wise has announced a partnership with Standard Chartered to offer retail remittance services to the bank’s customer base. Wise was set up to disrupt traditional banks that charge high fees for cross-border payments.

Wise, formerly known as Transferwise, stated that Standard Chartered will integrate its infrastructure via the Wise Platform API in the next few quarters. The collaboration will improve services to the SC Remit clients, especially those in the Middle East and other parts of Asia.

Following the integration of the new services, bank customers can send funds in 21 currencies, including USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, JPY, HKD, and SGD. Wise stated that it facilitated 63% of its cross-border transactions instantly within 20 seconds.

Standard Chartered Will Bring Its Superior Infrastructure Into The Partnership

Chief Client Officer and Global Head of Operations at Standard Chartered, Samir Subberwal, commented on the development. He stated that the company decided to collaborate with the Wise platform because of the company’s wide currency coverage and the broad cross-border experience the payments platform offers.

He noted that Standard Chartered will come into the partnership with its superior infrastructure to help with a faster and more efficient payment system.

Wide is a London-listed company that has taken the cross-border payments industry by storm by offering much lower fees for transfers. The company has become one of the top global remittance platforms.

Wise recently released its financial statement and informed the public how it has grown its customer base. The company revealed that the number of active users on the platform reached an impressive 8.9 million in Q2 FY25.

The firm stated that the massive growth was driven by recommendations and referrals from existing customers. Following the user-growth, Wise also recorded an increase in transaction volume. Wise saw an increase in transaction volume to £35.2 billion for the quarter under consideration, indicating a 20% surge.

Wise Has Cut Down On Cross-Border Fees

Managing Direction of Wise Platform, Steve Naude, also commented on the partnership. He stated that the collaboration with Standard Chartered is a major step for the company in the right direction. Naude said the bank is one of the top global banks that can help Wise improve in its international payment business significantly.

Apart from increasing its customer-base, Wise has also managed to cut down on cross-border transaction fees. The cross-border take rate went down to 59 basis points from 67 basis points, showing a decrease of 8 basis points. According to Wise, the 6 basis point of the reduction is attributed to lower prices while the remaining two basis points is due to changes in its business mix.