Standard Bank partners with Volante Technologies to revolutionize payments modernization across Africa in most ambitious Payments as a Service deal in history

Africa's largest bank moves payments infrastructure to Volante's cloud Payments as a Service (PaaS), transforming client experience and accelerating ISO 20022 adoption

LONDON, Oct. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Volante Technologies, the global leader in Payments As a Service (PaaS), is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Standard Bank, Africa's biggest bank by assets, to modernise payment infrastructure across the African continent. This marks one of the most ambitious PaaS payment deals signed in history, with no other payment providers servicing this many countries for one single customer in their PaaS cloud.

The landmark partnership, which is already live in South Africa, leverages Volante's Payments as a Service (PaaS) and Embedded Preprocessing, which works alongside current infrastructure, centralising multiple payment formats and standards into a consolidated system. This enables the bank to take a big step forward towards achieving their broader, long-term transformation strategy. These solutions streamline the bank's domestic and cross border real-time, high-value, and bulk payments, reducing complexity, enhancing efficiency and improving the customer experience for Standard Bank's Corporate and Investment Banking clients.

In addition, adopting Volante's platform, accelerates Standard Bank's transition to ISO 20022 standards, benefiting both the bank and its clients. William Kent, Executive Business Head at Standard Bank highlighted that this initiative, which will soon expand across 18 additional African countries, seamlessly integrates with the bank's existing legacy systems, managing over 50 clearing and settlement systems, and ensuring both operational continuity and scalability.

"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," said Bessy Mahopo, CIO for CIB transformation programmes at Standard Bank. "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."

Volante Technologies' Payment Modernisation: The Big Survey 2024 identified four major pain points for banking clients: the efficiency and speed of cross-border payments, the cost of payment processing, real-time or intraday liquidity management, and seamless integration with bank systems via APIs. Standard Bank's shift to Volante's PaaS and Embedded Preprocessing solution directly addresses these challenges, improving overall client experience and operational performance.

"We are proud to partner with Standard Bank and support its ambitious payment modernisation goals," Deepak Gupta, EVP Product, Engineering & Services at Volante Technologies. "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."

To learn more about Volante Technologies Payments as a Service, please visit [https://www.volantetech.com/payments-as-a-service/] and for more information on Embedded Preprocessing, please visit [https://www.volantetech.com/embedded-preprocessing/]

About Volante Technologies
Volante Technologies is the trusted cloud payments modernisation partner to financial businesses worldwide, giving them the freedom to evolve and innovate at record speed. Real-time native, API enabled, and ISO 20022 fluent, Volante's Payments as a Service and underlying low-code platform process millions of mission-critical transactions and trillions in value daily. Volante's customers include four of the top five global corporate banks, seven of the top ten U.S. banks, and two of the world's largest card networks. Learn more at www.volantetech.com and linkedin.com/company/volante-technologies. 

About Standard Bank Group
The Standard Bank Group is the largest African bank by assets, operating in 20 African countries, 4 global financial centres and 2 offshore hubs. Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, we are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with share code SBK, and the Namibian Stock Exchange, share code SNB.

As at 30 June 2024, the group's market capitalisation was R347 billion (USD19 billion). The group's headline earnings for the period ended 30 June 2024 were R22.0 billion (USD1.2billion) and total assets were R3.1 trillion (USD170 billion).

Standard Bank has a 162-year history in South Africa and started building a franchise outside southern Africa in the early 1990s. Our strategic position, which enables us to connect Africa to other select emerging markets as well as pools of capital in developed markets, and our balanced portfolio of businesses, provide significant opportunities for growth.

As of 30 June 2024, Standard Bank Group had 19.5 million clients, employed nearly 51 000 people (including Liberty) and had almost 1 200 points of representation and 5 500 ATMs on the African continent. 

The group's largest shareholder is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest bank, with a 19.4% shareholding. In addition, Standard Bank Group and ICBC share a strategic partnership that facilitates trade and deal flow between Africa, China and select emerging markets. For further information, go to http://www.standardbank.com

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