Deutsche Bank and Ant International announced a strategic partnership aimed at expanding payment solutions for businesses across Europe and Asia. The agreement, formalised with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 8 June in Munich, marked a significant step toward enhancing global treasury management and cross-border payment technologies.
This collaboration built upon a client relationship established in 2019, and saw Deutsche Bank become the first German bank to support Ant International’s blockchain-based real-time treasury management platform. The platform enables real-time fund transfers between Ant’s intragroup entities, improving liquidity management, transparency, and operational efficiency.
The strategic partnership focused on a number of key areas:
- Tokenised deposits and stablecoin integration
- Ant International’s Time-Series Transformer (TST) FX Model
- Real-time cross-border treasury solutions
- Merchant acquiring services expansion across EMEA
Ant International, a global fintech player and operator of Alipay+ and WorldFirst, brought its AI-powered FX engine and proprietary tokenisation technology to the partnership. The collaboration aimed to reduce foreign exchange-related costs and risks while exploring new applications of stablecoins in international trade and finance.
Deutsche Bank also committed to working closely with Antom, a merchant digitisation and payment provider under Ant International, to expand acquiring capabilities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). This initiative allows merchants in the region to access a broader suite of payment tools and integrate them seamlessly into their existing systems.
Further, the bank agreed to support WorldFirst, Ant’s global SME-focused financial platform, by offering services such as account collections, international payments, and foreign exchange solutions. Deutsche Bank’s global network will help WorldFirst improve service delivery to e-commerce and cross-border traders.
Speaking on the collaboration, Ole Matthiessen, Head of Corporate Bank APAC & MEA and Global Head of Cash Management at Deutsche Bank, said:
“We are delighted to strategically cooperate with Ant International. We will leverage our broad product capabilities and strong global network to deliver seamless and secure payment solutions to Ant International and its customers in Europe and Asia.”
Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech at Ant International, added:
“With a dynamic fintech landscape, Europe is fast-becoming a key hub for global digital payment innovation. This partnership deepens our commitment to building inclusive, secure, and advanced financial ecosystems that meet the evolving needs of global businesses.”
The announcement came as both firms sought to modernise international payments and bridge traditional banking with emerging financial technologies. The collaboration is part of a broader industry movement toward real-time, AI-driven, and tokenised financial services, offering more agile infrastructure for the digital economy.
