SBI Ripple Asia and SBI Remit, a cross-border funds transfer platform that operates as a subsidiary of the Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings, are launching a new payments service between Japan and Vietnam.
The new transfer platform will run on RippleNet with the Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank, a Vietnamese financial institution, on board.
According to a release, the CEO of SBI Holdings and Ripple board member Yoshitaka Kitao says new remittance services utilizing crypto assets will be released in the future. But he doesn’t specify whether the new remittance corridor between Japan and Vietnam will include the use of the digital asset XRP.
“The booming Vietnamese economy is one of the most attractive markets around the world. TPBank, which the SBI Group has invested in, in 2009 and owns a 19.9% share of, has achieved steady accumulation of loans and non-interest income such as settlement services, by actively utilizing cutting-edge technologies.
The adoption of RippleNet will further differentiate the company from its competitors. We will also develop remittance services that incorporates crypto-assets in the future.”
The number of Vietnamese residents in Japan has quadrupled over the last five years to around 330,835, according to The Japan Times.
CEO of Tien Phong Bank, Nguyen Hung, says,
“Our cooperation with SBI Ripple Asia on the application of blockchain technology in cross border money transfers marks an important turning point in enhancing our customer experience and makes international money transfers via TPBank faster, more convenient and safer than ever before.”