Remittances payment over the years has become a key contributor to the economy of several countries with India leading with $79 billion in remittance volume in 2018. The growing rate of remittances transaction fees has seen financial institutions seek cheaper alternatives.
One of which is the application of blockchain technology which offers lower transaction fees as well as secured cross border payments. Two of the major financial players in Asia have entered a partnership to utilize Ripple blockchain solution.
SABB Bank and Indusind launch innovative Ripple powered remittance Solution
SABB the second largest bank in Saudi Arabia and Indian bank Indusind have launched a Ripple powered blockchain solution that would enable faster and efficient remittance transactions between Saudi Arabia and India.
SABB’s Head of Global Liquidity and Cash Management Ghada Al Jarbou revealed that the bank is looking to have a bigger market in the remittance market. According to Jarbou most of the bank customers utilize third party service providers to remit money back to India.
Indusind meanwhile are looking to bolster their profile as a leading player within the Indian remittance market.
According to the head of transaction and banking sales Amit Talwar, Indusind already has a dedicated remittance team that is working on the possibilities that can be achieve with Ripple solution.
He also noted that there has been an increase in the number of inbound partners generated. since the bank started testing Ripple solutions on their platform.
Remittance Transactions takes only three minutes to be completed from Saudi Arabia to India
The partnership which is described as an ideal synergy for both groups began testing the Ripple powered solution last year. It was revealed by Ripple that the first transaction which occurred on December 23, 2018 took just seven minutes to complete on both ends.
It is understood that further testing has seen the current transaction time reduced to three minutes and the solution is ready for commercial application.
India has the highest number of expatriates in Saudi Arabia so it is little surprise that both banks are looking to leverage on Ripple technology in the quest to increase transactions.
Ripple has continued to show its growing acceptance in the financial industry with a growing number of institutions utilizing its solutions.
It is regarded as the top cross border ledger blockchain platform and it is no surprise that two of the biggest banks in Asia adopted its solution for remittance transactions.
