Blockchain-Powered Payments Platform Partior Completes Series A Fundraise

Partior, a Singapore-based blockchain platform for payments clearing and settlement, has wrapped up its Series A funding round, subject to regulatory approvals, by welcoming lead investor Standard Chartered, the platform’s fourth investor.

The funding round also participation from existing shareholders, DBS, J.P. Morgan and Temasek, its founding members.

Partior is the result of Project Ubin – a collaborative project between the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the industry to explore the use of blockchain and DLT for the clearing and settlement of payments and securities.

“The investment will deepen Standard Chartered’s blockchain innovation capabilities and bolster its commitment to build a more transparent, efficient and secure infrastructure for global value movement. The move will also further accelerate its deployment of blockchain technology across its global wholesale payments and settlements financial network and scale the delivery of Partior’s technology to global capital markets,” Partior said.

With Standard Chartered on board, the bank will serve as the first Euro settlement bank for the Partior platform. This development puts Partior on track to achieve its plan to broaden its currency offerings beyond the first slate of eight global currencies – USD, SGD, GBP, EUR, AUD, JPY, CNH and HKD, by 2023.

Partior said it aims to drive broad adoption of atomic settlement and clearing. The company recently announced its 2023 product expansion, unveiled its full senior leadership team and launched its Hyderabad Research and Development Centre after its success in atomising cross-border value movements last October.

“Our investment in Partior demonstrates the Bank’s relentless pursuit of innovation, with the goal of delivering greater efficiencies in cross-border payments and simplifying the client experience,” said Philip Panaino, Global Head of Cash, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered.

“As we navigate the challenges of today’s evolving payments industry in an increasingly connected world, we recognise that a concerted effort across the industry is needed. To that end, we are delighted to collaborate with other industry partners, who share in our commitment to deliver the G20 aspirations of enhancing cross-border transactions for the benefit of citizens and economies worldwide,” Panaino said.