Standard Chartered and A&O Shearman present payment regulations guide

Standard Chartered, in collaboration with global law firm, A&O Shearman, is proud to publish the third edition of the “Guide to Payment Regulations”. This comprehensive guide outlines the prevailing regulatory frameworks and licensing schemes for payments and e-money services, which now include Egypt, totaling 17 markets across Asia, Middle East, and Africa.

As digital payments and e-money services continue to surge, regulators are increasingly focused on enhancing their oversight of digital financial services and technological innovations. Key areas regulators are monitoring include customer funds protection, anti-money laundering measures, cross-border transactions, interoperability, and technology risk management. These efforts aim to ensure the safety and soundness of financial ecosystems.

The guide highlights significant regulatory updates across various markets, for example:

• China: New regulations require foreign payment service providers to be licensed onshore to be able to serve customers in China. This has led to a shift towards engaging local licensed partners for cross-border payment services and foreign exchange settlement to their customers in the country.
• India: Non-bank entities facilitating cross-border payments for the import and export of goods and services as collection agents or online payment gateway service providers are now under the direct supervision of the Reserve Bank of India. Classified as cross-border payment aggregators, these entities have compliance responsibilities such as reporting of suspicious transactions.
• Nigeria: International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) are now only permitted to make inbound transactions. This regulatory change allows IMTOs to facilitate remittance flows through official channels, thereby improving the efficiency of the foreign exchange market.

“The regulatory landscape is evolving rapidly to support a growing digital economy,” said Mahesh Kini, Global Head of Cash Management at Standard Chartered. “To stay ahead, fintechs and platforms must adopt a proactive regulatory strategy and integrate this foresight into product development and go-to-market game plans. We are delighted to continue our collaboration with A&O Shearman, leveraging our combined local knowledge and regulatory insights to release this essential guide. As a trusted banking partner, we remain committed to helping clients navigate the increasingly complex regulatory environment and providing innovative solutions to unlock sustainable business growth opportunities”.

A&O Shearman Partner Shuhui Kwok commented: “Thanks to the collective efforts of Standard Chartered, our A&O Shearman colleagues and local law firms where we have trusted relationships, we’ve been able to put together comprehensive and practical guidance to assist Standard Chartered customers to better navigate the opportunities and challenges of its expanding payment services offerings across the region.”

The Guide to Payment Regulations: Edition 3 (Opens in a new window)covers 17 dynamic markets across our footprint: Bangladesh, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Mainland China, Malaysia, Nigeria, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. It is available for download at: https://www.sc.com/en/corporate-investment-banking/transaction-banking/guide-to-payment-regulations/(Opens in a new window)

About A&O Shearman
A&O Shearman is the transformational law firm, created to achieve unparalleled outcomes for our clients’ most complex, multijurisdictional matters across an ever-changing world and regulatory landscape. A firm of nearly 4,000 lawyers, including 800 partners, working across almost 50 offices in 28 countries, A&O Shearman has the experience, diversity of skills and backgrounds, and global understanding to stay at the forefront of the changes across every sector, market, and jurisdiction around the world.

A&O Shearman is an international legal practice comprising Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP and its affiliated undertakings.
aoshearman.com

####

We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 53 of the world’s most dynamic markets. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, here for good.

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com.