Author: Digital Trade Outlook

M-DAQ Global, the Singapore-headquartered FX and cross-border payments group, has signed definitive agreements for a strategic integration with METech, the majority shareholder of PayME, a licensed payments service provider in Vietnam. The move advances M-DAQ’s plan to build a unified ASEAN Payments Hub covering collection, FX conversion, and payout across the region. M-DAQ now holds its own regulated payments infrastructure in Vietnam, enabling it to process local collections and payments directly in Vietnamese Dong, reducing reliance on third-party partners. The integration builds on earlier expansions through EasyPay in Malaysia and Wallex in Indonesia. With METech in the group, M-DAQ holds…

Citigroup has completed its first instant international payment in dollars with a partner bank, Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank, marking an expansion of the US lender’s instant payments capability beyond its own network. Phillip Securities Thailand, a client of SCB, made an instant transfer of funds in dollars from a Citigroup account in the UK to a Siam Commercial Bank account in Thailand during the US July 4 holiday weekend, Citigroup said in a statement. SCB is among the 300 banks integrated with Citi’s international instant payments network, which serves multinational clients through the bank’s Services division. Citi’s Head of Payments…

The most important thing happening inside BRICS has nothing to do with a common currency. It is the slow construction of financial plumbing that could carry a growing share of world trade outside the usual dollar channels. The dollar itself is not going anywhere. It still dominates trade and finance, sits on top of the deepest capital markets in the world, and benefits from a global banking network built around it over decades. No BRICS currency comes close. But close may not be the point, because the countries involved are not really trying to dethrone anything. They are building options.…

Turkey has formally signalled its ambition to join the European Union’s payments infrastructure, with Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek confirming that Ankara has sent a letter of intent to join the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Simsek made the announcement on Thursday at a press conference following the Turkey-EU high-level economic dialogue meeting in Istanbul. Turkey and the EU have been in talks over accession to SEPA, the 41-country framework that makes cross-border euro-currency payments cheaper, faster and more secure. Joining SEPA would allow Turkish banks and businesses to send and receive euro payments under the same rules, timelines and cost…

XTransfer, the B2B cross-border trade payment platform, and Societe Generale have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance cross-border payment infrastructure and develop integrated financial solutions supporting international trade flows. The agreement, announced during Money20/20 Europe 2026 in Amsterdam, targets more efficient, seamless and cost-effective cross-border payment experiences, particularly for businesses operating from China across Europe and global markets. The MOU was announced by Neil Ni, Chief Strategy Officer of XTransfer, alongside Queenie Lo, Head of Global Transaction Banking Hong Kong, and Edwin Hartog, Head of Global Transaction Banking Netherlands, at Societe Generale. Despite growing trade flows, many businesses still…

India and Indonesia have announced plans to integrate their national payment systems, a move both governments say will simplify transactions for businesses and travellers and deepen economic ties between the two countries. The announcement came during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Jakarta, where he held a joint press conference with President Prabowo Subianto at the Merdeka Palace on Tuesday. “One of the greatest strengths of our relationship is people-to-people ties. We are very pleased to announce the plan that India’s digital payment system, UPI, will be integrated with Indonesia’s payment system. This will make transactions easier for…

Standard Chartered has processed the first remittance transaction under Swift’s new retail payments scheme, completing an end-to-end transfer to India in 37 seconds. The transaction was initiated by Westpac in Australia and credited to a beneficiary bank in India via Standard Chartered — a world first under the scheme. The milestone was recognised at an event hosted by Swift in collaboration with the Indian Banks’ Association, where P D Singh, CEO, India & South Asia, Standard Chartered, was felicitated as the first bank in India to process a payment under the framework. Swift’s retail payments scheme offers end-to-end transaction tracking,…

The Government of Ghana has fully settled a $700 million Eurobond obligation ahead of schedule, the Ministry of Finance announced on Monday. The payment was completed on July 2, 2026, comprising $525.2 million in principal repayments and $174.8 million in interest. The ministry said this brings total payments to Eurobond holders since January 2025 to $2.1 billion, consistent with the terms of Ghana’s Eurobond Debt Exchange Programme. The settlement was financed through the government’s planned funding arrangements and did not draw on Ghana’s foreign exchange reserves. The ministry said the payment reduces outstanding Eurobond debt, strengthens investor confidence, and reflects…

The move expands client access to cross-border RMB solutions across trade, payments and treasury flows. Standard Chartered Bank (China) Limited (“SCB China”) has signed the Cross-border e-CNY Transfer Services (CBETS) Direct Participant Agreement with e-CNY Centre International Co. Ltd, becoming one of the first foreign banks to do so. The e-CNY Centre is established and managed by the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, which is responsible for building and operating the cross-border and blockchain infrastructure for the digital RMB. CBETS is a digital RMB cross-border infrastructure platform that supports integration with central bank payment systems and…

NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) has partnered with ACLEDA Bank Plc. to launch UPI acceptance in Cambodia. The launch was marked at a ceremony in Phnom Penh attended by H.E. Dr. Chea Serey, Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia, and senior officials from the Reserve Bank of India. This completes Phase 1 of a cross-border QR payment link between UPI and Bakong’s KHQR, Cambodia’s national QR code. Phase 1 allows Indian travellers to pay at over 4.5 million Cambodian merchants using UPI. This phase covers incoming Indian travellers only. In the next phase, the corridor will become fully bi-directional…