Standard Bank Moves to Cloud Payments in Africa-Wide Modernisation Drive

Standard Bank, Africa's largest bank by assets, has partnered with Volante Technologies to modernise its payments infrastructure across the continent in what the companies describe as one of the most ambitious Payments as a Service (PaaS) deals to date.

The partnership, which is already operational in South Africa, will expand to 18 additional African countries, managing over 50 clearing and settlement systems. The initiative uses Volante's cloud-based PaaS and Embedded Preprocessing solutions alongside existing infrastructure to consolidate multiple payment formats into a single system.

Bessy Mahopo, CIO for CIB Transformation Programmes, Standard Bank

Bessy Mahopo, CIO for CIB transformation programmes at Standard Bank, said: "Our collaboration with Volante goes beyond much more than just a working partnership; it represents a pivotal moment in our evolution, built on trust and cultural alignment. Volante distinguished itself by passing our rigorous vetting process and stood out for its transparency and unwavering spirit of partnership. Their PaaS technology is a perfect complement to our needs, and their shared values and dedication permeate their entire organisation, not just at the leadership level. Together, we are transforming the payments landscape while empowering communities and fostering growth across Africa."

The move aims to streamline the bank's domestic and cross-border real-time, high-value, and bulk payments while accelerating its transition to ISO 20022 standards. According to Volante's Payment Modernisation survey, banking clients face four main challenges: cross-border payment efficiency and speed, payment processing costs, real-time liquidity management, and seamless API integration.

Deepak Gupta, EVP Product, Engineering & Services at Volante Technologies said: "We are proud to partner with Standard Bank and support its ambitious payment modernisation goals. Our PaaS solution is an ideal fit for the bank's needs, enabling rapid time-to-market, lowering costs, and fostering innovation. We look forward to working closely with Standard Bank as it continues to expand across the continent, bringing the strength and depth of our technology roadmap to both the bank and its customers. Together, we aim to deliver a superior experience for corporate treasury customers, ensuring they can operate more efficiently in an ever-evolving financial landscape."

Volante Technologies, which processes millions of transactions daily, counts four of the top five global corporate banks and seven of the top ten U.S. banks among its clients.