Our partnership with Globe Telecom boosts financial inclusion

One of the first countries in Asia where Straight2Bank Wallet is available

Standard Chartered Bank Philippines announced its partnership with G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, to launch Straight2Bank Wallet in the Philippines, making it one of the first countries in Asia where this service is available.

The service will enable corporate clients to make instant, cashless payments to individuals via Standard Chartered’s Straight2Bank channels, even if the individual does not have a bank account. Beneficiaries will receive the funds electronically in their GCash mobile wallets operated by GXI, thereby removing the risks, time and manual effort required for manual payments.

Straight2Bank Wallet is particularly relevant in markets such as the Philippines, where more than 70% of the population do not have access to formal financial channels.

The new service enables clients such as development organisations, international organisations, non-bank financial institutions, agricultural companies and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies to make payments to both banked and unbanked individuals such as aid workers, trainers, policy holders, farmers and other beneficiaries.

Mahendra Gursahani, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank, Philippines said, “We are proud to be the first international bank to introduce this service in the Philippines. We believe digital and mobile devices will become a prime mode of financial interaction and transaction in the coming years. The Straight2Bank Wallet payment service will help reduce the cost of sending money to remote locations as payments can now be done electronically, saving additional costs to clients and transactions can be done anytime, anywhere.”

Paolo J. Baltao, President of G-Xchange, Inc. added, “One of our goals in GCash is to provide Filipinos access to financial services at the comfort of their mobile phones. We continue to realise this goal as we see the growing usage of GCash as a safe and convenient platform for mobile money transfers. With our partnership with Standard Chartered, we pave the way for customers to make cashless transactions via Straight2Bank Wallet. We believe that this engagement will allow us to expand our network of partners and offer our subscribers more uses for GCash.”

Joel De Vera, Country Head of Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered Philippines, said, “We are delighted to partner with GXI to offer an innovative financial solution that allows corporates to pay individuals through their mobile wallet. This means payment beneficiaries are not required to open bank accounts to receive payment. This is the bank’s way to support the government’s thrust of boosting
financial inclusion. Individuals or payment beneficiaries can receive payment via ordinary phone. You do not even need a smartphone and internet, all you need is a cellular signal to receive payment.”

Gautam Jain, Global Head of Client Access, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered, commented, “The launch highlights our commitment in providing best-in-class connectivity for our corporate clients and in improving accessibility to banking services in developing markets. As mobile money takes off in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, its rapid adoption is changing the way individuals are transacting in the emerging markets.”

Standard Chartered has been Globe Telecom’s cash management bank for the company’s peso-dominated payment transactions over the past 10 years and the partnership with GXI further solidifies this strong relationship.

The launch of Straight2Bank wallet in the Philippines is part of Standard Chartered’s financial inclusion strategy and reaffirms the Bank’s brand promise of ‘Here for good’. The Bank will also be launching the platform in Thailand in the third quarter of the year, and plans to expand the offering to other relevant footprint markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

For further information please contact:

Natalie Long
Manager, Global Communications
Standard Chartered Bank
+65 6596 5388
Natalie.Long@sc.com