Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), the largest lender in Thailand, has collaborated with Ripple to develop ‘SCB EASY’ app.

The app was launched yesterday to allow more than 16 million clients in Thailand to make fast and cost-efficient transfers.

Arthit Sriumporn, SVP of Commercial Banking, said:

“It is so difficult to send and receive money today. People must physically go to a bank branch, fill out long and complicated forms and wait for payments to be received—with no transparency. With our service, their loved ones from abroad can transfer payment and receive money immediately.”’

Money transferred in just 40 seconds

In a prototype version of the app, SCB earlier showed how money is transferred in just 40 seconds. The app development took long period due to regulatory issues.

The bank also seeks to expand its payment services to 12 countries, such as the UK, the US, Singapore, France, Germany and Italy.

Both SCB and Ripple continue offering EMVCo-QR payments. QR is a well-known payment method, especially in South East Asia. Thus, the deal aims to support those who suffer from high costs and long transfer periods. Moreover, tourists in Thailand can benefit from the move:

“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.”

Sriumporn indicated that the deal will help the bank improve people’s lives significantly. The lender processes over 60,000 transactions monthly, with and a total transaction volume exceeding $400 million.

Ripple could disrupt cross-border payment industry

Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg, said Ripple can cause disruption in the cross-border payment industry.

He added that Ripple could also challenge other major techs in the payment sector, but its exposure to the XRP cryptocurrency might serve as barriers.

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