Standard Chartered launches sustainable escrow and account-bank service in UK and UAE - Trade Treasury Payments

Standard Chartered has launched a Sustainable Escrow and Account Bank solution, extending its suite of ESG-focused transaction banking products to clients in the UK, UAE, and DIFC. The offering enables clients to hold funds in secured accounts that are linked to the bank’s portfolio of green and sustainable loans.

The new solution allows funds placed in escrow or held in an account to be referenced against projects aligned with Standard Chartered’s Green and Sustainable Product Framework. The move reflects growing market demand for sustainability integration across core banking services, including liquidity and cash management.

According to the bank, this structure provides clients with greater visibility and traceability in how their deposits are aligned with positive environmental or social outcomes, without compromising security or neutrality.

“Standard Chartered is committed to supporting clients in meeting both financial and sustainability goals while managing risks effectively,” said Sandrine Jourdainne, Global Head, Deposits, Liquidity and Escrow Solutions.

“By offering these sustainable solutions, we’re playing our part in empowering our clients to channel their funds into projects and loans that have real-world positive impact, securely and transparently.”

The service builds on Standard Chartered’s earlier initiatives across sustainable transaction banking. Its product suite now includes ESG-linked cash accounts, sustainable accounts, sustainable trade finance products, and trade loans for financial institutions. This broader platform allows clients to embed ESG criteria into working capital and trade flows, while enabling the bank to meet sustainability commitments made under its $300 billion sustainable finance mobilisation target by 2030.

Earlier this year, Standard Chartered became the first global bank to adopt the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Principles for Sustainable Trade Finance, a framework that defines what constitutes sustainable trade and sets guidelines for classifying green and social transactions.

In July 2025, at the United Nations Financing for Development Forum in Seville, the ICC formally launched Wave 2 of this framework. This expanded the scope to include social trade finance and sustainability-linked supply chain finance, with contributions from leading banks including Standard Chartered, Commerzbank, Santander, and HSBC.

The ability to tie liquidity and cash products to sustainability-linked frameworks represents a structural shift in how banks service clients across treasury, trade, and capital markets. 

The approach may also assist corporates and financial institutions in preparing for incoming ESG disclosure regulations, particularly in jurisdictions where Scope 3 and sustainable finance reporting are becoming mandatory.

As ESG scrutiny intensifies across financial markets and supply chains, the inclusion of escrow and account-bank services into the sustainable-finance toolkit suggests a broader maturity in how banks are operationalising ESG frameworks beyond just lending.

Whether this marks the beginning of a new wave of innovation in sustainable treasury products remains to be seen, but Standard Chartered has placed a clear marker on how core cash infrastructure can be mobilised toward measurable impact.