Standard Chartered: How Banks are Adopting to Digitalisation

Standard Chartered has published its Future of Trade: Digitalisation report, examining how banking partners can support businesses through technology transformation. 

The bank surveyed 1,200 corporate leaders from 17 markets across four sectors: energy; technology, media and telecommunications; consumer and retail; and power and diversified industries.

The research reveals how businesses are approaching their digitalisation strategies over the next three to five years, with particular focus on the advisory and partnership roles that banks can provide during this transition.

The survey findings indicate that 68% of leaders are prioritising foundational systems, particularly cloud computing, before implementing emerging technologies, creating opportunities for banks to guide phased technology adoption strategies.

Standard Chartered research identifies demand for banking advisory services

The survey finds that 81% of leaders want advisory services from their banking partners on digitalisation and digital assets adoption. This demonstrates that businesses face uncertainties when navigating digital transformation and require guidance to inform their strategic decisions.

The research examines outsourcing patterns, revealing that 59% of respondents are partially outsourcing their digitalisation projects while 20% are outsourcing their digitalisation work completely to third-party vendors. These figures indicate how businesses are relying on external expertise, including banking partners, to implement technology changes.

"Global trade is undergoing a profound transformation and digitalisation is accelerating the pace of change and reshaping how businesses connect, transact and grow," says Michael Spiegel, Global Head, Transaction Banking a Standard Chartered.

Banking partners support businesses facing interoperability challenges

The Standard Chartered survey identifies that 56% of leaders face interoperability and integration issues as barriers to achieving the full benefits of digitalisation.

Companies with existing digital frameworks report difficulties merging their systems with new technologies, creating opportunities for banks to provide technical guidance.

The proliferation of platforms has resulted in unstructured data and inefficiencies as businesses manage multiple systems. When different parts of the supply chain use different data formats and platforms, information and goods exchange becomes slower, requiring coordinated support from financial services providers.

Regulatory barriers present challenges for 49% of leaders, particularly in the Africa and Middle East region where markets operate under diverse regulatory regimes. Banks operating across multiple jurisdictions can provide expertise on navigating these varied compliance requirements.

Michael continues: "By prioritising connected data flows, compliance and consistency, corporates are setting the stage for technologies like artificial intelligence and digital assets to scale responsibly and efficiently.

"When these underlying layers are strong, innovation can accelerate and sustain long-term growth across global value chains."

Regional variations in Digital Economy Agreements priorities

The research examines how Digital Economy Agreements can help businesses address regulatory barriers by aligning rules and trade frameworks across markets. Banks can support clients in understanding and leveraging these agreements to facilitate cross-border operations.

The importance of DEAs varies by region. 41% of leaders in Africa and the Middle East consider DEAs important for advancing trade digitalisation, while only 19% of leaders in the UK and US identify them as priorities. This regional variation means banking partners must tailor their advisory services to local market conditions.

"The next phase of trade digitalisation won't be about platforms alone, but about interoperability and deepening connectivity across ecosystems. The future of trade will be shaped by how well we can connect these ecosystems," says Sofia Hammoucha, Global Head of Trade and Working Capital at Standard Chartered.

The Standard Chartered report outlines that banks can help businesses streamline processes, build partnerships and diversify providers to protect supply chains during digital transformation.