A&O Shearman and Standard Chartered present payment regulations

The guide covers regulatory frameworks and licensing schemes across key markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa to help corporates and fintechs navigate the evolving global payments landscape

As digital payments and e-money services continue to surge, regulators are increasingly focused on enhancing their oversight of digital financial services and technological innovations. Key areas regulators are monitoring include customer funds protection, anti-money laundering measures, cross-border transactions, interoperability, and technology risk management. These efforts aim to ensure the safety and soundness of financial ecosystems.

The guide highlights significant regulatory updates across various markets, for example:

• China: New regulations require foreign payment service providers to be licensed onshore to be able to serve customers in China. This has led to a shift towards engaging local licensed partners for cross-border payment services and foreign exchange settlement to their customers in the country.
• India: Non-bank entities facilitating cross-border payments for the import and export of goods and services as collection agents or online payment gateway service providers are now under the direct supervision of the Reserve Bank of India. Classified as cross-border payment aggregators, these entities have compliance responsibilities such as reporting of suspicious transactions.
• Nigeria: International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) are now only permitted to make inbound transactions. This regulatory change allows IMTOs to facilitate remittance flows through official channels, thereby improving the efficiency of the foreign exchange market.

Mahesh Kini, global head of cash management at Standard Chartered, commented: “The regulatory landscape is evolving rapidly to support a growing digital economy. To stay ahead, fintechs and platforms must adopt a proactive regulatory strategy and integrate this foresight into product development and go-to-market game plans. We are delighted to continue our collaboration with A&O Shearman, leveraging our combined local knowledge and regulatory insights to release this essential guide. As a trusted banking partner, we remain committed to helping clients navigate the increasingly complex regulatory environment and providing innovative solutions to unlock sustainable business growth opportunities.”

The Guide to Payment Regulations: Edition 3 covers 17 dynamic markets across our footprint: Bangladesh, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, mainland China, Malaysia, Nigeria, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. It is available for download.