Standard Chartered Ventures invests in combined company which will give customers the building blocks to easily access, build, connect, and use any payment service.
CurrencyFair is to merge with Australia-based payments company Assembly Payments as a result of a strategic investment by Standard Chartered Ventures.
Paul Byrne, President and CEO of CurrencyFair, who will lead the merged business said: “This merger is a natural evolution for CurrencyFair as we move beyond simple transactions towards building a company which allows businesses and individuals to access, build, connect and use any payment service.
“Our new payment products will give customers a greatly simplified way to overcome technical, regulatory and geographical challenges while we retain our ‘customer first’ culture and build on the transparent, value-based services we’re renowned for. ”
In the official press release issued on 7th April, 2021, Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered added: “Digital payments is a core strategic area for Standard Chartered and our 2020 investment in Assembly Payments greatly enhanced our presence in the domestic payments business.
“By bringing together the complementary strengths of CurrencyFair and Assembly, we are supporting the merged company in offering the full range of payment services, providing retail and corporate clients access to fast, high-volume domestic and cross-border payments.”
E-commerce opportunities
Global e-commerce sales, estimated to be almost US$26 trillion in 2018, has further accelerated as businesses and consumers increasingly look to the digital marketplace due to COVID-19. A substantial number of these transactions have taken place between continents and markets, resulting in cross border digital payments becoming more complex and requiring workflows that involve many steps, systems and interactions.
Corporate clients are also increasingly demanding more value-added services from their payments providers, to consolidate all aspects of their payment value chain within a seamless and cost-efficient offering that meets domestic and cross border payment flow needs.
Recognising this opportunity, the new company will focus on addressing key pain points including the fragmentation of payment ecosystems, the complexity of implementing different payment ecosystems from a technical, operational, financial, and regulatory perspective, privacy and security of data, and cross-border e-commerce for multi-market and multi-currency collection requirements.
Alex Manson from SC Ventures noted: “E-Commerce is one of the highest conviction themes for SC Ventures, and we will continue to grow and scale our capabilities and geographies to support the transition to digital economies.”
Rimal Gokani, Co-CEO of Assembly Payments added in a statement: “More and more businesses are moving and expanding online and as they invest they need complimentary payment services including FX, fraud management, reconciliation and non-card payments.
Co-CEO of Assembly Payments, Tim Dicksinson, also said:
“Together Assembly Payments and CurrencyFair are ideally positioned to focus on the growing needs of the global cross border business payments market.”
SC Ventures, the innovation, ventures and fintech investments unit of Standard Chartered is doubling down on its commitment to the rapidly growing payments industry, following its earlier investment in Assembly Payments in 2020.
The merger is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.
About the companies
Assembly Payments
Founded in Australia in 2013, it helps customers automate payment workflows that push the boundaries of what is possible and reduce the complexity of running both classic and digital-native businesses. In 2020, Assembly Payment and Standard Chartered Ventures entered into a joint-venture agreement with a view to enhance the core payment capabilities offered by Assembly and to further the expansion into new markets. It employs 74 people and has offices in Australia, Singapore, Philippines and the USA.
CurrencyFair
The company was launched in Ireland in 2010 and offers an online cross-border payment service to customers globally. Over the past 10 years the company has on-boarded over 150,000 customers. It currently offers 20 currencies in well-established currency corridors for international payments. The company employs 85 people with its head office in Dublin, Ireland and locations in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, UK and Guangzhou, China.
Standard Chartered
A leading international banking group, Standard Chartered has a presence in 59 of the world’s most dynamic markets, and serves clients in a further 85. Its purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through its unique diversity, and its heritage and values are expressed in its brand promise, here for good. Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges.
Standard Chartered has been actively experimenting with new business models to meet the evolving needs of its clients. In Hong Kong, it launched Mox, a standalone digital retail bank, in partnership with PCCW, HKT and Trip.com; in India, it launched Solv, a digital marketplace for SMEs; it has announced a ‘banking as a service’ solution, nexus, for consumer platforms to offer their own branded financial services to their customers, having signed up Sociolla and Bukalapak in Indonesia; and it has partnered Northern Trust to launch Zodia, a global digital asset custodian.
