nexus by Standard Chartered establishes partnership with Sociolla
Standard Chartered Bank announced its partnership with Sociolla through nexus, its ‘Banking as a Service’ solution.
In line with the Bank’s vision to enable convenient access to financial services for tech-savvy consumers across its markets, the partnership will enable Sociolla to offer financial products, like savings accounts, loans and credit cards that are powered by nexus in late 2021, subject to regulatory approvals, the firm said in a press release.
This is the second partnership which nexus has forged in Indonesia, giving Standard Chartered Bank the opportunity to reach the unbanked and expand its customer base in the world’s 4th most populous country, where the e-commerce adoption rate is the highest in the world, the Bank reports.
With consumer behaviour shifting in the wake of Covid-19, more Indonesians are migrating online to purchase consumer goods on e-commerce platforms, says Standard Chartered. The pandemic has also revealed the need to accelerate digitisation efforts in banking, through which Standard Chartered Bank aims to increase financial inclusion.
Andrew Chia, Chief Executive Officer, Indonesia, Standard Chartered Bank, said: “We are excited to announce our partnership with Sociolla, Indonesia’s leading beauty and personal care e-commerce platform. This second partnership with an e-commerce platform reaffirms Standard Chartered Bank’s commitment to grow our footprint locally. We believe the future of banking is digital, and nexus is poised to leverage strategic partnerships that enable greater financial access for Indonesians.”
This partnership is in line with Sociolla’s ambition to transform the beauty industry through technology. Christopher Madiam, Co-Founder and President Director of Social Bella (parent company of Sociolla), said: “We are truly excited in being the first beauty-tech company that is collaborating with Standard Chartered Bank to provide beauty enthusiasts with this innovative banking solution. At Sociolla, we are proud of our tech-led capabilities in providing customers with a holistic and unique beauty experience that truly meets our customers' needs. The banking service is an important value-add to continuously complement our integrated beauty ecosystem, especially now that we have been noticing a growing demand from our customers for trusted digital payments.”
Furthermore, digital payments play an important role in promoting Indonesia’s digital economy. With the huge volume of beauty and personal care products being bought online, it is imperative that the industry caters to customers’ rising adoption of digital payment methods. Madiam adds: “As e-commerce continues to develop a bigger presence among Indonesian beauty enthusiasts, we hope to expand our customer base through a more convenient and comfortable online purchasing experience within our ecosystem.”
Announced in March 2020, nexus was incubated at SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm. Through this ‘Banking as a Service’ solution, digital platforms and ecosystems like e-commerce, social media or ride hailing companies, will be able to offer loans, credit cards and savings accounts co-created with the bank to their customers under their own brand name. The Bank intends to further roll out the service to markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East with the right regulatory frameworks and established digital platforms.
Standard Chartered has been actively experimenting with new business models to meet the evolving needs of its clients. Most recently, the Bank announced the official launch of Mox, its new virtual bank created in partnership with PCCW, HKT and Trip.com, to the general public in Hong Kong. It also set up a joint venture with Assembly Payments this February to develop and deliver next generation payment solutions. and has built a digital open platform, Solv, to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India and other markets grow by providing access to financial and business services.
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