By Solomon OdunayoAccording to a report made available by Ripple, the US-based cross-border payment company that oversees the distribution of the digital currency XRP, Thailand’s oldest bank, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB)’s partnership with Ripple has really been transforming the lives of their 16 million users.
This collaboration brings about a mobile app that runs on Ripple to deliver instant and low-cost cross-border payments. This partnership is seen as a means to bring the financial institution into the digital age.
According to Ripple, Arthit Sriumporn, the SCB’s SVP of Commercial Banking, mounted the stage at Swell to discuss the journey with Ripple and how the agelong bank fairly treats its over 16 million customers.
As the report shared, virtually all the top 10 countries using mobile payments are located in Asia. Going by the facts inferred from a survey conducted by PwC, relatively 86% of China’s population makes use of payment applications.
Comparably, 67% of the population of Thailand also use mobile apps. Obviously, there are tourists and migrants in the region that yearn for the easiest means to send and receive funds across borders.
While addressing the listening attendees, Sriumporn stressed the difficulties encountered while attempting to send and receive funds nowadays.
He said people have to sacrifice their time to undergo stressful processes to receive payments without the necessary transparency. He added that with SCB service backed by Ripple, people are now able to easily and instantly receive and send funds to and from their loved ones around the world.
Sriumporn showcased the demo of the SCB Easy app and tested it for proper functional assurance. The bank’s partnership with Ripple made this easy. It’s able to fulfill its customers’ cross-border payment demands on a daily basis, with low-cost, fast and better customer experience. The report averred that this is just the “beginning for SCB and Ripple’s journey together.”
The next mission of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) is to expand into Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) region.
Also, SCB and ripple are conjoining to offer cross-border EMVCo QR payments. This type of payment method is said to be common across Southeast Asia.
Sriumporn said “Imagine you are a tourist coming to Thailand, and you can use your home country mobile application to scan for payment and eliminate the need to exchange for local currency. You can use your mobile app, scan the QR payment and receive goods right away.”
Conclusively, Sriumporn averred that SCB has really become a solution that changes lives, which could only be achieved with the partnership with Ripple.