Jakarta. Standard Chartered has outlined its strategy for the future of payments, as the international banking group leverages technologies and builds solutions for the entire lifecycle.

Ankur Kanwar, Head of Transaction Banking & Cash Management, Singapore & ASEAN, Global Head of Payment and Treasury Solutions at Standard Chartered, said on Tuesday that payments should be more “real-time, intelligent, and resilient” going forward.

“[That’s why] we are focused on enhancing the basic payment infrastructure,” Kanwar told the press on the margins of the Indonesia Treasury Leadership Forum 2026.

To this end, Standard Chartered is expanding its use of application programming interfaces (APIs). It is adopting ISO 20022 standards — the global and open messaging language for payments — to enable richer transaction data. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics can help clients use this information to make more informed decisions.

The bank’s strategy also encompasses emerging forms of digital money, including tokenised deposits and stablecoins, as part of its broader efforts to improve cross-border payments.

“We are focused on enabling stablecoin pay-ins and payouts for our clients. The goal is to make cross-border payments absolutely frictionless,” Kanwar said, while highlighting cybersecurity as an imperative amid the rapid digital transformations.

Serving clients across multiple markets and currencies, Standard Chartered sees payments as part of a broader, end-to-end financial journey. According to Kanwar, payments cannot be viewed in isolation, particularly as clients seek integrated solutions across their operations. 

“Our focus is really on the entire spectrum of the payment journey. ... It’s really about how we build the entire ecosystem around payment, bring partners, bring regulators, and change the whole experience in terms of navigating payment landscapes,” Kanwar said.

“There are tons of things that we can solve with new technology. It's about real-time visibility, building more embedded controls, and reducing manual workload on the client side.”

The Indonesia Treasury Leadership Forum 2026, held at St. Regis Jakarta, brought together over 180 business leaders and industry representatives. The dialogue zeroed in on the theme “The Blueprint for Tomorrow: From Today’s Disruption to Tomorrow’s Opportunity”. The discussion also saw policymakers, industry players, and financial experts having in-depth discussions on the future of payments and rewiring supply chains.

Add as a preferred source on Google +