SCB and Ripple Launch Blockchain Application for Instant International Payments
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), Thailand's largest bank, has partnered with Ripple to develop a mobile blockchain application for instant cross-border payments.
According to a Ripple blog post, the SCB Easy app was introduced in December during the annual Ripple Swell event. During the app’s demo,
SCB Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking Arthit Sriumporn sent a payment to the beneficiary’s bank account in just 40 seconds. Sriumporn noted:
“Today, it is still difficult to send and receive money. People must go to the bank branch, fill out long and complex forms and wait for payments to be received.
Moreover, there is almost no transparency. Thanks to our service, people will be able to receive funds from abroad and send payments to other countries almost instantly. ”
SCB plans to launch its cross-border translation services in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. In addition, SCB and Ripple are working together on
EMVCo, a cross-border QR payment application that is popular across Asia. The implementation of this application will enable SCB to offer its customers micropayment services in addition to money transfers.
For several years now, the Bank has been exploring the possibilities of blockchain in the financial sector.
So, in April last year,
SCB and the state-owned oil company PTTEP announced the successful testing of the blockchain for international transfers. In May,
SCB announced that it would use Ripple technology to make cross-border payments, but a month later denied its statement.
