Standard Chartered, in collaboration with global law firm, Allen & Overy, have published the second edition of Guide to Payment Regulations. — Photo courtesy of the bank

Standard Chartered, in collaboration with global law firm, Allen & Overy, have published the second edition of Guide to Payment Regulations, which outlines the prevailing regulatory frameworks and related licensing schemes for payments and e-money services.

Covering eight additional markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East – including Việt Nam – the guide aims to support corporates and fintechs in navigating the rapidly evolving payments landscape and allows them to consider various factors that impact them as they expand their businesses across borders.

The second edition builds on the eight Asian markets covered in the initial guide, which has received over 1,000 downloads since its launch in last September. In addition to providing a summary of market-specific payment and e-money services regulations, the guide also draws on the expertise of the two organisations in addressing most common themes corporates and fintechs face when they scale their businesses in their home markets or across borders. One of the top themes the report demystifies is whether licensing requirements apply for B2B eCommerce platforms.

Payments is one of the most disrupted domains within the financial services industry due to continued technological innovations and the exponential growth of fintechs and the alternative solutions they present. This has translated to frequent reviews and changes to payments regulations to ensure that the financial ecosystem remains safe and secure. This makes keeping abreast of all these regulatory developments a challenge for corporates and fintechs looking to provide or facilitate payment services across markets in Asia, Africa and Middle East.

Sylvester Kinuthia, Head of Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered Vietnam said: “Việt Nam is at the forefront of the digital transformation that’s taking place globally. With the fastest growing digital economy in ASEAN, the Việt Nam Government is making great strides in amending laws and regulations to support the rapidly evolving world of digital payments. Standard Chartered, in collaboration with Allen & Overy, is delighted to publish our second edition of Guide to Payment Regulations. This second edition offers a guide of the diverse regulatory payment and e-money environment across eight markets, including Việt Nam. We hope that both editions will be useful to our clients as their business models evolve and as they expand into these new markets, including Vietnamese corporates expanding into other markets.” — VNS