Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), the first bank of Thailand, has launched Ripple, a blockchain enterprise solution. The bank aims to use this new technology to handle remittances between Japan and Thailand. Ripple, used as a cross-border payment network solution, will allow the bank to transfer remittances from Japan to Thailand nearly instantaneously. Ripple is the first of its kind in Asia and will give way to newer technology and innovation occurring in the region through blockchain technology.
There are more than 40,000 Thailand nationals working in Japan and the remittance market accounts to almost $250 million on an annual basis. Customers of this large market want their money to be transferred in a matter of minutes instead of taking days as these remittances are funds for their basic needs.
The goal of Ripple is to exchange value just like information is exchanged in the present era. This will eventually give rise to an Internet of Value (IoV). Ripple allows banks to transact between their branches directly and in real-time by using advanced algorithms. Banks from all over the world are currently partnering with Ripple to increase the efficiency of their own cross-border payment offerings.
While discussing the newly integrated technology, Dr. Arak Sutivong, Chief Strategy Officer of SCB, stated:
“We are proud to be the first bank in Asia to use Ripple’s leading blockchain network solution to power real-time payments for our customers, whose families oftentimes depend on the availability of these funds for basic needs - time is of the essence to them. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Ripple as we expand the service into other key markets in the future.”
Marcus Treacher, the global head of strategic accounts at SCB, had the following comments regarding the release of Ripple:
“Ripple’s goal is to make cross-border payments move as quickly and as easily as information does today. In the case of SBI Remit and SCB, our solution helps ensure that remittances from Japan reach their destination in Thailand near instantly. SCB and SBI Remit are leading the way in Asia in serving new customer demands for real-time cross-border payments, making theirs a highly competitive offering.”
Ripple is just one of the many technologies that has been developed directly through the use of research that is carried out for cryptocurrencies. It is apparent that the effects of cryptocurrency are not only limited to the virtual currency market but is impacting every sector of life.