Standard Chartered’s Client Goes Digital During Coronavirus Lockdown
--Collaboration with PICT for setting up virtual accounts for collections in these extraordinary times
KARACHI– Standard Chartered Pakistan is delighted to collaborate with Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT), to provide them an efficient virtual accounts solution that has enabled them to continue their collection services in these times of social distancing and lockdown.
The solution addresses PICT’s requirement for a proficient and reliable mechanism, that enables them to reach out to their large customer base that is spread across the country.
In the prevailing COVID-19 situation,digital solutions are the way forward for our clients as they look out for solutions which allow them seamless access to their customers with minimal human contact. At Standard Chartered, such digital solutionsbridge the gap giving organisations real time access to clients with minimum human interaction asall transactions are processed using state of art and globally acknowledged digital products and services.
Commenting on this solution, CEO Standard Chartered Pakistan, Mr. Shazad Dada, said, “We are very excited to be the first in the industry to co-create a digital solution for PICT given the difficulties experienced by their clients. Technology is core to Standard Chartered’s digital strategy and we remain fully committed to delivering the next generation of best-in-class products to cater to our clients’ evolving needs.”
PICT CEO, Mr. Khurram Aziz Khan appreciating the virtual accounts setup said, “Standard Chartered and PICT collaborated to go digital at a time of crises during which government has implemented lockdown and suggested physical distancing. PICT’s customers have been facilitated by Standard Chartered in a very short span of time to enable them to make online payments in a safe and secure environment. This in turn is also a major step towards ease of doing business which will benefit all the stakeholders not only during the crisis situation but in the longer run as well.”
Virtual Accounts, as the name implies, are not actual accounts opened in Standard Chartered’s books, but represent a system of identifying the client’s customer, via a unique consumer reference number.
Each of the client’s customers is assigned a virtual account number to identify individual payers and facilitate reconciliation. SC’s Virtual account is a bank agnostic solution which allows our corporate clients to collect from Alternate Distribution Channels (online banking, ATM and mobile banking applications) of 1 Link member banks, and over the counter transactions through Standard Chartered and partner bank counters.— PRESS RELEASE
