The ability to send money globally in real time has caught fire in the international financial industry. Large banking groups, such as the Japan Bank Consortium, are leading the charge.

The Japan Bank Consortium — a coalition of 61 banks in Japan, organized by SBI Ripple Asia — has announced the launch of a new Ripple pilot with Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank, two of South Korea’s largest banks with a collective market capitalization of more than $30 billion.

This initiative will be the first time money moves from Japan to Korea over RippleNet.

Korean banks committing to the modernization of payments

The Japan Bank Consortium will use Ripple’s settlement technology, xCurrent, to settle transactions between participating Japanese banks and Woori Bank or Shinhan Bank.

The pilot solidifies the Japan Bank Consortium’s commitment to modernize payment systems — specifically in the Japan/Korea corridor where Korea is Japan’s third largest trade partner — to send money instantly, removing the need for intermediaries while reducing the cost of sending global payments.

SBI Ripple Asia CEO Takashi Okita and Korean bank representatives launch new pilot

What’s more, the Japan Bank Consortium created a virtual currency and blockchain working group to explore the institutional use case of digital currencies, such as XRP, to source on-demand liquidity for these cross-border payments.

Delivering a much-needed solution for cross-border payments

Banks within the Japan Bank Consortium are one of many institutions that are actively working with Ripple to solve the multi-trillion dollar problem plaguing the financial industry, corporates and consumers worldwide — the lack of liquidity (or cash) to instantly send or receive low-cost international payments.

“The Japan Bank Consortium’s pilot with Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank brings us closer to sending money in an important corridor,” said Emi Yoshikawa, director of partnerships at Ripple.

“The use of RippleNet to send cross-border payments reinforces that financial institutions are ready to provide a modern payments experience and enable to the Internet of Value.”

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