BNP Paribas and Ant International have formed a strategic partnership to enhance cross-border payment solutions for merchants and consumers in Europe.

Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in Zurich earlier this month, BNP Paribas will work with Alipay+, the cross-border mobile payment and digitalization technology solutions operated by Ant International, to enable thousands of merchants that use BNP Paribas' acquiring service across Europe to accept payments from more than 25 international mobile partners via Alipay+.

Douglas Feagin, president of Ant International, and Pierre Fersztand, global head of cash management, payments, trade solutions and factoring at BNP Paribas, signed the MoU.

The two sides also agreed to work together to strengthen WorldFirst’s participation in the Single Euro Payments Area (Sepa) scheme. WorldFirst, Ant International’s one-stop digital payment and financial services platform for global businesses, will reinforce its participation in Sepa to enable businesses to make online cross-border payments and fund transfers more seamlessly within the Sepa Zone.

BNP Paribas will sponsor WorldFirst’s participation in the Sepa scheme, allowing WorldFirst to leverage the bank’s expertise and products to expedite its integration and onboarding onto Sepa. WorldFirst’s clients will be able to access payment schemes under Sepa in real-time and automate treasury payments to optimize their operations.

In addition, BNP Paribas will explore innovations in tokenized deposits for global treasury management with Ant International, through the latter’s Whale platform. The collaboration aims to improve the efficiency and speed of global fund settlements through the use of tokenized deposits.

Ant International will leverage BNP Paribas’ infrastructure to further develop its Whale platform, a next-generation treasury management solution that uses blockchain technology innovation, including advanced encryption and artificial intelligence, to improve the efficiency and transparency of fund movement between bank accounts for better global liquidity management.