Standard Chartered activates banking partnership with Capital.com for virtual asset services
Key Facts
Capital.com said its global banking partnership with Standard Chartered is now operational in Europe and the Middle East and North Africa, providing banking infrastructure for the group’s virtual asset services. The agreement covers fiat currency settlement, client money account services and other banking services related to these activities. Under the arrangement, Capital.com can manage client money and settlement operations through a single global banking relationship. The announcement places the partnership at the core of the services’ operating infrastructure, as its role extends beyond providing access to virtual assets. Capital.com said the agreement is already operational in both regions, without specifying a later launch date or another geographic scope.
Capital.com provides virtual asset services through two regulated subsidiaries: Capital Vault Virtual Services in the UAE and Capital Vault Ltd in Cyprus. This structure means the announced partnership coverage is tied to entities operating under two local regulatory frameworks, while the banking relationship supports settlement and client money. Rahul Kumar, Capital.com’s head of digital assets, said the arrangement gives the two Capital Vault companies “a single regulated banking relationship for settlement, client money and other related services.” He added that the services are provided under the rules of regulators in the UAE and Cyprus. The agreement thus brings money management and settlement at the bank together under one relationship, while the virtual asset services remain the responsibility of the subsidiaries.
Capital Vault Ltd in Cyprus is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and holds licence CASP005/25. Capital Vault Virtual Services in the UAE holds a licence from the UAE Capital Market Authority to deal in virtual assets as an agent or matching principal, number 20200000442. The company also holds a licence for virtual asset custody services, number 20200000441. These licences define the scope of activities announced for each entity, while the banking agreement provides cash services and client money accounts connected with them. The announcement does not say the partnership changes or expands the licences.
Ying Ying Tan, global head of securities services and digital assets at Standard Chartered, said the bank would draw on its global network and governance and risk management capabilities to support the movement of cash liquidity across jurisdictions. She added that these capabilities come together under the partnership to support Capital.com’s activities in the markets where its subsidiaries operate. This role reflects the agreement’s focus on cash and cross-border settlement channels, alongside client money management. Kumar described the relationship as providing a regulated banking route for the subsidiaries in the UAE and Cyprus. The statement did not give a financial value for the agreement or details on the volume of flows to be handled through it.
The partnership comes amid broader activity by Standard Chartered in digital assets, but the statement distinguishes Capital.com’s supporting banking services from other products developed by the bank. In the UAE, the bank launched a bitcoin and ethereum trading service for wealth clients and also announced plans and services related to digital asset custody and institutional services. The partnership does not mean Capital.com offers those banking products to the bank’s clients; it covers the banking services needed to settle fiat currencies and manage the money of Capital Vault companies’ clients. The specific information on this agreement remains limited to Europe and the region, and the banking services set out in Capital.com’s statement. Standard Chartered shares, listed under the symbol SCBFY, closed at $55.33 on November 2, 2026, the latest close listed in the market data accompanying the report.