BNP Paribas teams up with Ant International for European cross-border payments

Tokenised deposits for global treasury management are being explored

French bank BNP Paribas and Chinese FinTech Ant International, have formed a strategic partnership to enhance cross-border payment solutions for merchants and consumers in Europe.

Both parties agreed to develop several key intiatives, which will see BNP Paribas working closely with Ant International and its digitla payment and innovative businesses.

This was outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on July 3, 2024 in Zurich by Douglas Feagin, preesident of Ant International and Pierre Fersztand, global head of cash management, payments, trade solutions & factoring of BNP Paribas.

BNP Paribas will work with Alipay+, the cross-border mobile payment and digitalisation technology solutions operated by Ant International, to enable 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. 

WorldFirst, Ant International’s one-stop digital payment and financial services platform for global businesses, will reinforce its participation in SEPA to enable businesses to make online cross-border payments and fund transfers more seamlessly within the SEPA Zone.

BNP Paribas will sponsor WorldFirst’s participation in the SEPA scheme, allowing WorldFirst to leverage the bank’s expertise and products to expedite its integration and onboarding onto SEPA. 

WorldFirst’s clients will be able to access payment schemes under SEPA in real-time and automate treasury payments to optimise their operations.

In addition, BNP Paribas will explore tokenised deposits for global treasury management with Ant International, through the latter’s Whale platform. 

The collaboration aims to improve the efficiency and speed of global fund settlements through the use of tokenised deposits.

Ant International will leverage BNP Paribas’ infrastructure to further develop its Whale platform, a next-generation treasury management solution that utilises blockchain technology, including advanced encryption and AI, to improve the efficiency and transparency of fund movement between bank accounts for better global liquidity management.

Feagin said: “Europe is an important region for Ant International, with the rise of cross-border commerce and the increase in travellers to the region, and of course, the excitement around UEFA EURO 2024 this year. 

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.”

Fersztand 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 on each other’s strengths to offer our clients the best service when it comes to cross-border payments.

"Additionally, we are keen to foster innovation with such a key player to develop tomorrow’s treasury management standards.”