Standard Chartered Next To Enable B2B Payments In Zoho

U.K. bank Standard Chartered is the next financial institution (FI) to integrate payment capabilities into corporate software firm Zoho.

Reports in Business Standard on Thursday (April 19) said Standard Chartered is collaborating with Zoho to integrate financial services for business users of Zoho Books and Zoho’s Cloud Accounting solution in India. The integration enables companies using Zoho financial management tools to pay their suppliers from directly within the platform, facilitated by Standard Chartered services.

In a statement, Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu said he is “very excited” about the collaboration.

“With this partnership, corporate banking solutions are directly baked into their accounting software, driving innumerable efficiencies,” he said. “As an example, cross-border payments requiring tiresome documentation can be directly initiated from Zoho Books, infusing simplicity into a complex process that encourages businesses to scale globally.”

The company added that the integration will also link joint corporate customers to supply chain financing products.

Earlier this year, Zoho announced a similar partnership with ICICI Bank, which also sees ICICI integrating payment capabilities into Zoho’s platform for joint customers.

“Corporate [enterprise resource planning (ERP)]-to-bank connectivity was a luxury that only big companies used to enjoy,” Vembu said when the ICICI collaboration was announced in February. “Zoho and ICICI Bank have come together to democratize this technology for all businesses, right from a one-person company to larger corporates.”

“This integration enables [micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)] to bring in the efficiency of automation by connecting seamless banking transactions and bookkeeping on a single platform,” added ICICI Bank Executive Director Anup Bagchi. “Additionally, it also enables them to keep track of all their business expenses on a single platform without having to switch multiple applications.”

The software firm also developed its own payments solution, Zoho Checkout, launched last year to help companies enable payment acceptance online. The solution is offered via Zoho’s Finance Suite of services and can support one-time and recurring payment collections.