Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and Ant International, a Singapore-based provider of AI-based payments, foreign exchange, treasury, and account services, have signed a memorandum of understanding to work on cross-border payment services in Japan, Singapore, and Southeast Asia.

Under the deal, SMBC will provide transaction banking support for Ant International businesses, including Alipay+, Antom, and WorldFirst. It will cover cross-border payments and treasury management.

The companies will also explore linking Ant International’s Whale RTP (real-time payments) platform with SMBC’s digital payment and asset solutions.

The agreement comes as ASEAN+3 has made progress on cross-border payment connectivity, though further work remains, while Japan has lagged broader Asia-Pacific growth in cross-border payments.

🔗 Source: Ant International

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