BNP Paribas has announced its partnership with Ant International in order to further promote cross-border payment solutions for customers in Europe. Following this announcement, BNP Paribas and Ant International are expected to combine their expertise and suite of services in order to optimise the cross-border payment experience for clients and merchants in the region of Europe.

In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed recently, the firms agreed to develop several initiatives, which will see SMP Paribas working with Ant International and its digital payment business. In addition, both financial institutions will continue to focus on meeting the needs, preferences, and demands of customers and users in an ever-evolving market, while also prioritising the process of remaining compliant with the regulatory requirements and laws of the industry. More information on the announcement Throughout this announcement, BNP Paribas is set to work with Alipay+ in order to enable merchants and traders to use its acquiring service across the region of Europe, as well as accept payments from more than 25 international mobile partners.

At the same time, the companies will work together in order to strengthen WorldFirst’s participation in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) scheme. This project represents Ant International’s one-stop digital payment and financial services platform for worldwide firms, and it is expected to reinforce its participation in SEPA to allow businesses to make cross-border transactions and fund transfers securely and quickly within the SEPA Zone. BNP Paribas is set to sponsor WorldFirst’s participation in the SEPA scheme, which will allow the initiative to leverage its expertise and products to expedite its overall integration and onboarding onto SEPA.

WorldFirst’s customers will have the possibility to access payment schemes under SEPA in real-time, as well as automate treasury transactions and improve their operations. Furthermore, BNP Paribas will explore several developments in tokenised deposits for global treasury management with Ant International, through the use of the latter’s Whale platform. The strategic deal will further improve the efficiency and speed of global fund settlements through the use of tokenised deposits as well.

Ant International is expected to leverage BNP Paribas’ infrastructure in order to develop its Whale platform, which was designed as a treasury technology solution that utilises blockchain technology, such as advanced encryption with AI, to optimise the efficiency and transparency of fund movement between bank accounts for enhanced worldwide liquidity management. .