Standard Chartered Bank has signed a strategic partnership agreement with leading financial services brand  UAE Exchange to further strengthen their relationship and provide cash management services.

The new partnership will enable the corporate clients of Standard Chartered Bank to deposit cash in their bank accounts through UAE Exchange’s vast retail network of 150+ branches across all seven emirates in the UAE, said a statement from the bank.

Through this extended partnership, Standard Chartered will now be able to provide its corporate clients with multiple touchpoints for depositing cash in the UAE. For added convenience, the new cash deposit service will be available seven days a week along with extended cut-off time for depositing cash at UAE Exchange branches, it said.
 
Standard Chartered’s latest arrangement with UAE Exchange, a Finablr company, is an alternative and integrated solution for cash deposit management, making it an efficient and cost-effective channel for the bank’s corporate clients.

The introduction of this innovative service enables the bank’s corporate clients to deposit cash at the nearest UAE Exchange branch. Clients can receive near real-time credit into their account, complemented by Standard Chartered’s virtual account solution offering payer identification and enriched narrations.
 
Standard Chartered has successfully piloted this solution with five select corporate clients, who are actively using this arrangement, it added.
 
Among them is BRF, one of the largest food companies in the world, who has managed to streamline its cash collections through UAE Exchange.

Bruno Massera, head of treasury, said: “Being one of the first clients to use this innovative solution, we are delighted with the implementation, outcome, convenience and efficiency this has brought for our sales team and account receivables process.”

Rola Abu Maneh, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered UAE, said: “With our rich history of over 60 years in the UAE, we are well positioned to offer our clients unprecedented reach through a fully integrated and secure solution.”

“This landmark agreement is in line with the bank’s approach of deepening its client relationship by providing world-class financial solutions,” she added.

Pradeep Kumar T P, chief executive officer of UAE Exchange and Unimoni, said: “Our long-standing relationship with Standard Chartered builds on our collective synergies that aim to provide innovative solutions which redefine the financial services industry.

“As a customer-centric brand with strong capabilities, we continuously look out for opportunities and newer ways to enhance and broaden our portfolio of services. We are proud to partner with Standard Chartered Bank for this first-of-a-kind initiative that complements our services and further empowers corporate customers,” he added.
 
Abdel Kareem Alkayed, country head, UAE Exchange-UAE, said: “Through this new arrangement, the bank's corporate clients will benefit from our expertise in streamlining cash management processes and our trusted ability to handle large amounts of physical cash safely and securely.”

“In addition to this, we provide accessibility through conveniently-located branches across the UAE. We look forward to teaming up with Standard Chartered Bank to deliver a seamless experience to its corporate clients,” he added.
 
Motasim Iqbal, head of transaction banking, Standard Chartered UAE, said: “Cash handling remains a significant pain point for corporates due to the associated cost and risk. We have achieved an important milestone through our partnership arrangement with UAE Exchange, combining network, convenience, security and payer identification under a single integrated offering.”

Standard Chartered and UAE Exchange plan to further this collaboration by adding new services under this tie-up as well as extend this to other Standard Chartered footprint markets in the future, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service