Standard Chartered customers will soon be able to withdraw cash from more than 400 places nationwide, thanks to a tie-up the bank has made with start-up soCash.
StanChart's app SC Mobile will incorporate technology from soCash that effectively turns merchants such as Buzz kiosks, convenience stores and minimarts into ATM locations.
Customers will be notified via SMS in a few weeks when the service is ready to be used.
Bank customers with the app on their phone will be able to key in the amount they want to withdraw and collect the cash from any outlet of a participating merchant.
Withdrawals can range from $20 to $500 daily, they will not carry a fee and the customer will not need to make a purchase at the merchant to withdraw the cash.
Currently, customers can withdraw cash from StanChart's network of 16 branches, five priority banking centres and 31 ATMs.
Mr Andrew Chia, StanChart Singapore's head of retail banking, said: "With this new channel to complement our existing ATMs, we will be massively increasing the number of locations at which our customers can get access to cash."
Mr Hari Sivan, the chief executive of Singapore-based soCash, said StanChart is the start-up's first banking partner in Asia.
"By marrying the ease of transaction enabled by soCash, our islandwide network and the security afforded by SC Mobile, we are bridging the divide between online and offline banking for consumers."
SoCash's platform connects banking services to fulfilment points like convenience stores and grocery shops. Its goal is to convert every shop and customer into a virtual cash distribution network, starting in Asia.
Yasmine Yahya
