“Can Standard Chartered become the embedded banking infrastructure layer of choice for digital ecosystems across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East by leveraging its unique multi-market banking licenses and BaaS platform (nexus)?”
Standard Chartered is a 150+ year-old international bank focused on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Over the past five years the bank has repositioned from a traditional correspondent-banking model toward an embedded finance infrastructure play: launching nexus (its BaaS platform), integrating Wise Platform for cross-border payments, and building Open Banking Marketplace APIs for corporate clients. The bank is increasingly acting as a BaaS provider and infrastructure layer for fintechs and digital ecosystems rather than solely a balance-sheet lender, culminating in crypto-infrastructure partnerships like DeCard in 2025.
Standard Chartered discloses Standard Chartered nexus (self-operated) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Standard Chartered does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Standard Chartered nexus (self-operated).
Standard Chartered processes payments through Straight2Bank Pay (self-operated) and Worldpay.
Standard Chartered uses Wise Platform for FX and cross-border payouts.
Standard Chartered integrates with NetSuite.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 6 layers in Standard Chartered's stack: Payments / PSP (Straight2Bank Pay (self-operated) and Worldpay); Banking / BaaS (Standard Chartered nexus (self-operated)); Lending (Trade Lending, Supply Chain Finance (Supplier Finance, Distributor Finance, Receivables Purchase), Letters of Credit, Guarantees and 4 others); Unified APIs (Wise Platform); FX & payouts (Wise Platform); Accounting (NetSuite).
Standard Chartered is founded in 1969 and headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Standard Chartered and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.