French banking giant BNP Paribas has joined forces with China’s Ant International in a strategic partnership aimed at improving cross-border payment solutions for European merchants and consumers.
The collaboration, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Zurich, leverages Alipay+, Ant Group’s digital payments arm. This will allow merchants using BNP Paribas’ acquiring services across Europe to accept payments from customers utilizing over 25 international mobile wallets.
Beyond facilitating payments, the partnership explores innovation in “tokenized deposits for global treasury management.” BNP Paribas will collaborate with Ant International’s blockchain-based Whale platform to enhance the efficiency and speed of international fund settlements through tokenization.
The agreement extends further with BNP Paribas sponsoring WorldFirst, a UK payments group acquired by Ant International in 2019. This sponsorship aims to expedite WorldFirst’s integration and onboarding onto the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) scheme, leveraging BNP Paribas’ expertise and products.
This partnership between BNP Paribas and Ant International signifies a significant development in the global financial landscape, fostering collaboration between European and Chinese financial institutions to improve cross-border payment solutions.
