Bank of China (Hong Kong), or BOCHK, and Singapore-based Ant International will jointly develop cross-border payments, treasury management, and financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).

In a joint statement on Thursday, the two sides said they reached a strategic partnership for the move, combining the bank’s network with Ant International’s payments and AI technology. The two have worked together since 2013.

Under the partnership, BOCHK will provide Ant International’s Alipay+, a payment gateway that connects mobile wallets, with the accounts and settlement banking needed for cross-border payments across Southeast Asia.

According to Ant International, Alipay+ connects more than 50 mobile payment partners and over 2 billion user accounts. BOCHK customers can link their bank accounts and credit cards to AlipayHK, Ant International’s Hong Kong wallet, for transfers, payments, and top-ups.

For corporate customers, Ant International’s embedded-finance business, Bettr, will work with BOCHK on blockchain-based tools using distributed-ledger technology and tokenization for real-time cash management. The two will combine the bank’s foreign-exchange pricing with Ant International’s AI for treasury services.

Ant International’s cross-border account service, WorldFirst, will work with BOCHK to offer small and medium-sized enterprises in cross-border trade fund-management services, including for Chinese companies expanding abroad. WorldFirst operates across more than 220 countries and territories, according to Ant International.

Sun Yu, vice-chairman and chief executive of BOCHK, said the bank aimed to advance cross-border financial connectivity and fintech in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

Eric Jing, chairman of Ant International, said the partnership would bridge the two companies’ networks to improve payment services for businesses and consumers.

Barclays, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered adopt Ant International’s FalconTST AI model 2.0