Standard Chartered has opened its latest innovation lab and fintech incubator in Shanghai, in a bid to tap into the country's vibrant tech ecosystem and expertise in AI and Big Data.
The eXellerator in China builds on the Bank’s global network of innovation labs across Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Kenya and San Francisco. The labs bring together employees, corporate clients and fintechs to drive innovation and invest in promising fintechs
Jerry Zhang, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank (China), says: “Rapid changes in financial technology are reshaping the future of the global banking industry, especially here in China which is home to some of the world’s most established companies leading the way in areas like artificial intelligence and Big Data.
"Given the strategic importance of this market to the Group, our innovation centre in Shanghai will play a crucial role to support us in proactively reinventing ourselves, by bringing together our people, clients and fintechs to co-create and deliver the next generation of products and services.”
Standard Chartered has already struck an agreement with Linklogis to use the Chinese B2B player's blockchain-enabled supply chain platform to improve business financing opportunities and deepen client relationships in China.
In October last year, the bank partnered with Chinese networking conglomerate Huawei on the development of IoT sensors that would automatically trigger payments to corporates by providing real-time data on the movement of goods.