Standard Chartered – the first bank to launch an API-first payout offering to enable next-gen digital commerce

• Standard Chartered launches Payouts-as-a-Service (PaaS) to manage one-to-many payments to parties in their ecosystem seamlessly
• The PaaS is currently available in five major e-commerce hubs across India, Malaysia, Singapore, the UAE, and the UK

Businesses’ ability to digitize their customer engagement strategy has become essential as consumers place an ever-increasing emphasis on speed and convenience. Each organization has a distinct financial approach – growth-oriented processes require innovative solutions to realize their objectives. Payouts are a trusted payment method that many businesses see as an advantage in accelerating digital commerce.

Payout technology is evolving quickly. For many years, businesses that had to send large payments relied on paper, which is expensive and inefficient. By transitioning to fully digital engagement, firms can operate more affordably while providing their clientele with greater choice and simplicity.

This is evident in the ASEAN region, which has the world’s fastest-growing mobile wallet market, with the ASEAN-5 + Vietnam countries expected to have more than 440 million active accounts by 2025.

Is PaaS the next-gen digital commerce?

On the opening day of the Singapore Fintech Festival, Standard Chartered announced the launch of Payouts-as-a-Service (PaaS), a bank-grade fintech solution that enables digital enterprises to effortlessly manage one-to-many payments to parties in their ecosystem.

Standard Chartered is the first major bank to launch API(application programming interface)-first programmable payouts, with live pilot clients on the platform set up through a series of co-creation engagements. It is available in five major e-commerce hubs across India, Malaysia, Singapore, the UAE, and the UK.

By integrating with the bank’s PaaS APIs, customers can embed and automate payments on their digital commerce platforms by providing details of transactions as they occur. Preferences regarding who, when, how, and how much is paid can be pre-set or provided as necessary.

Without requesting additional payment instructions from customers, the bank programmatically executes the payment contract using these parameters.

This enables complex payout constructs, including split, scheduled, conditional, or clubbed payments for the bank’s clients. This results in a significant decrease in payment administration overheads and saves time that can then be used for higher-value activities to scale the business. Conditional payments and automation are available via a single integration.

According to Philip Panaino, Global Head of Cash and Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered, banks have a critical role to play in facilitating future-ready payment solutions to help businesses capitalize on the economic growth driven by today’s digital economy.

“Our PaaS solution aims to be at the forefront of meeting our clients’ evolving embedded payments needs, with the ability to contextualize and configure payment contracts to meet their desired business outcomes,” said Panaino.

Head of Product and Partnerships at Tazapay, Aayush Singhania says PaaS enables the establishment of transaction-level payment contracts for escrow-protected payments and marketplace payouts.

Deepika Sharma Ong, Head of Brand and Marketing at Olea, added that “with the introduction of PaaS, Olea – a joint venture between SC Ventures and Linklogis – is able to embed complex payment workflows into our operations.”

A payout solution enables large payments to be scaled and controlled, facilitating the simple transfer of funds to the payees—suppliers, gig workers, and sales associates.

 

---

---

---

---