Standard Chartered

Universal bank · London, United Kingdom

Standard Chartered is a London-headquartered bank that earns around 90% of its profit in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and does no retail banking in the UK. It is present in 54 markets, is a Hong Kong note-issuing bank and ranks second among transaction banks in Asia. For businesses it offers trade finance, cash management through Straight2Bank, SME accounts in Asian hubs and a digital-asset stack covering custody, spot crypto trading and a licensed Hong Kong dollar stablecoin. Deposits were 553 billion dollars at June 2026.

Legal name: Standard Chartered PLC
Regulated by: PRA/FCA (UK), HKMA (Hong Kong), MAS (Singapore), BaFin/ECB (Standard Chartered Bank AG, Germany), CSSF (Luxembourg), Federal Reserve/NYDFS (New York branch)
Licence confirmed: yes, on a regulator's own list
Established: 1853
Website: www.sc.com

Scores, 0 to 10

10.0Trade, manufacturing & import-export

Named Global Finance best trade finance provider 2025 in Malaysia among other markets and describes trade, investment and wealth flows across its 54-market network as its core business. · source

9.5Asia-Pacific (SG, HK, AU, JP, KR)

Licensed in Hong Kong (note-issuing), Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and other markets, with 35% of group deposits in Hong Kong and SME accounts available in the hubs. · source

9.0Financial strength & stability

FSB G-SIB (bucket 1), CET1 14.2% at June 2026, and operating bank ratings of AA- (Fitch), A1 (Moody's) and A+ (S&P). · source

9.0Crypto wallet and custody for a business

Standard Chartered runs bank digital asset custody with segregated assets for asset managers, corporate treasuries, banks and exchanges, live in the UAE since September 2024 and authorised as a MiCA CASP for custody through Standard Chartered Luxembourg on 25 June 2026 per the ESMA register. · source

9.0Bitcoin

Deliverable BTC/USD spot trading for institutions through the UK branch since July 2025 and through Standard Chartered DIFC since 3 September 2026, with settlement into the bank's own custody. · source

8.5Latin America, Africa & South Asia

Around 90% of profit comes from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, with licensed banks in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and other emerging markets. · source

8.5On-ramp: buy crypto with fiat

Institutional clients buy BTC and ETH directly on the bank's eFX desk, and since May 2026 Standard Chartered provides Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Exchange funding rails in AUD, SGD, CAD, CHF, EUR and GBP; smaller companies are not the target client. · source

8.5Ethereum

ETH/USD spot trading and custody are offered to institutions in the UK and UAE; no staking service is listed. · source

8.5Stablecoins (USDC, USDT and others)

Anchorpoint, its joint venture with HKT and Animoca Brands, received one of the first two HKMA stablecoin issuer licences on 10 April 2026 for the HKDAP stablecoin, and the bank offers stablecoin issuance, custody and payment rails to corporate treasuries. · source

8.0Crypto-friendly bank

Has a fintech coverage team, launched spot BTC and ETH trading for institutions in July 2025, set up a crypto prime brokerage in SC Ventures in January 2026 and acts as local-currency on-ramp bank for Coinbase Prime in six currencies. · source

8.0Cross-border payments, FX and multi-currency accounts

Network spanning 54 markets with local rails in Asia, Africa and the Middle East; Singapore business clients get FAST transfers for S$1 and 50% off standard telegraphic transfer charges via Straight2Bank. Ranked number two transaction bank in Asia (Coalition Greenwich FY2025) with Straight2Bank cash management across 54 markets. · source

8.0Off-ramp: crypto to fiat in a business account

Institutions can sell BTC and ETH against USD on the bank's own platform with any custodian, and the bank settles fiat for Coinbase institutional clients in six currencies. · source

7.5Middle East & Gulf

The UAE holds 3% of the 553 billion dollar deposit base and hosts DFSA-licensed digital asset custody in the DIFC since 10 September 2024, with further Middle East operations in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Iraq. · source

7.0Fintech companies that need a partner bank

Standard Chartered nexus offers white-label banking-as-a-service on the bank's licences, and a dedicated fintech coverage team serves clients such as StraitsX, Finmo and Coinbase Prime. · source

5.5Business cards (Visa, Mastercard)

The Standard Chartered Singapore Business Debit Card is a Mastercard with no annual fee and a 1 percent cash rebate on spend; no virtual card programme is described on the page. · source

5.0Europe (EU, EEA, Switzerland)

Standard Chartered Bank AG in Frankfurt holds a full ECB/BaFin banking licence as the EU hub for corporate and institutional clients, and the group gained a Luxembourg MiCA CASP and EMI licence in June 2026. · source

5.0United Kingdom

PRA-authorised and London-headquartered, but the UK business serves only corporate, institutional and private-bank clients; there is no UK retail or SME banking. · source

5.0Online businesses: e-commerce and SaaS

Business accounts support PayNow Corporate and SGQR collections in Singapore, but the bank is not a merchant-acquiring specialist and has no marketplace payout product. Business accounts in Singapore include free Straight2Bank online banking and foreign currency accounts in AUD, GBP, HKD and NZD, but no accounting integrations or software-company products are published. · source

5.0Foreign-owned & non-resident companies

Singapore business account pages set a US$10,000 minimum balance and free Straight2Bank access but publish no rule on directors living abroad, so onboarding of foreign-owned companies is decided market by market. · source

4.5United States

The Americas franchise, including the New York branch, is limited to corporate and institutional banking for multinationals, financial institutions and development organisations. · source

4.5Best interest on business balances

SGD and USD Business$aver accounts pay tiered interest but require S$50,000 or US$50,000 minimum balances; non-interest-bearing BusinessOne accounts are the default. · source

4.5Startups & VC-backed companies

Startups are served as ordinary SMEs with S$30,000 to S$50,000 minimum balances; SC Ventures invests in fintechs but does not run a startup banking unit. · source

3.5Lowest fees

Singapore BusinessOne accounts need S$30,000 minimum balance with a S$50 fall-below fee, and Hong Kong accounts cost HK$300 a month unless HK$200,000 is kept on deposit. · source

3.5Fast digital onboarding

Hong Kong business account opening can take 2 to 8 weeks and often requires an in-person appointment, although initial documents can be submitted online. · source

3.5High-risk verticals (iGaming, cannabis, adult, forex)

Standard Chartered's 2025 Wolfsberg CBDDQ marks adult entertainment and marijuana-related entities as prohibited and gambling customers as always subject to EDD. · source

2.5Customer satisfaction

The Trustpilot profile for sc.com scores 1.6 out of 5 from 23 reviews, a small sample for a bank present in 54 markets. · source

2.0Accept crypto payments

Its digital asset pages offer custody, trading, tokenisation and stablecoin rails for treasuries, but no merchant checkout or crypto acceptance product, checked September 2026. · source

Sources

Built on public information and the BankStore team's own aggregated experience; no confidential client or partner data. Bank Index and BankStore are not banks. This is information, not financial advice.