Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), in collaboration with Japan’s SBI Remit announced Friday (June 30) that it is using Ripple’s blockchain enterprise solution to power real-time remittance payments between Japan and Thailand.

In a press release, the bank said in the first stage that Ripple’s cross-border payments network solution is helping remittances from Japan reach SCB retail customers easily and faster than in the past.

“SCB invests in innovative technology, like Ripple, to provide our retail customers with the financial products and services they increasingly need in this digital age. Customers increasingly expect payments to work in real time, whether domestic or international,” said Dr. Arak Sutivong, chief strategy officer at SCB in the press release. “We are proud to be the first bank to use Ripple’s leading blockchain network solution to power real-time payments between Japan and Thailand 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.”

According to the company, about 40,000 Thai nationals currently live in Japan, and total remittance flows from Japan to Thailand are roughly $250 million a year. The rollout of this new service started Friday (June 30) and supports individual funds transfers from JPY in Japan to THB in SCB savings accounts in Thailand. Once sent, the funds are credited to an SCB recipient’s account within two to five seconds, a significant uplift compared with the up to two business days it currently can take for a payment to be made between the two countries, they said. SCB plans to roll out the service in other key markets across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

“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,” said.Marcus Treacher, global head of strategic accounts at Ripple in the same press release. “We are excited to expand our relationship with SCB further across their other key markets, and to continue the momentum with commercial traction for the Ripple network worldwide.”