BNP Paribas, the European Union’s bank, and Ant International, a digital payment and financial technology solution, have strategically partnered to offer cross-border payment solutions for European merchants and consumers.
On July 3, 2024, in Zurich, Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International, and Pierre Fersztand, Global Head of Cash Management, Payments, Trade Solutions, and factoring at BNP Paribas, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The agreement develops several key initiatives, with BNP Paribas collaborating closely with Ant International and its digital payment and innovation businesses.
BNP Paribas and Ant International will explore innovations in tokenized deposits through the Whale platform. This partnership aims to enhance the efficiency and speed of global fund settlements, leveraging blockchain technology for improved global liquidity management.
BNP Paribas will work with Alipay+, the cross-border mobile payment and digitalization technology solutions operated by Ant International, to enable thousands of merchants that use BNP Paribas’ acquiring service across Europe to accept payments from more than 25 international mobile partners via Alipay+.
The two sides also agreed to work together to strengthen WorldFirst’s participation in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) scheme to make online cross-border payments and fund transfers more seamlessly within the SEPA Zone.
BNP Paribas will support WorldFirst’s integration into SEPA, allowing its clients to access real-time payment schemes and automate treasury payments.
Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International, said: “Through our collaboration with a leading industry partner, we will bring together digital payments and innovative technology solutions from Ant International, with BNP Paribas’s depth of experience in the European market, to deliver greater connectivity and make global travel and trade more convenient.”
Pierre Fersztand, Global Head of Cash Management, Payments, Trade Solutions & Factoring at BNP Paribas, added, “This new agreement with Ant International deepens a long-term collaboration that started in 2016 when Alipay+ was rolled out in Europe. This is a key step in bolstering our service offering while leveraging each other’s strengths to offer our clients the best service when it comes to cross-border payments.”
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