Siam Commercial Bank is showing off its low-cost remittance mobile app for Asian populations, which is powered by Ripple’s technology and available to 16 million customers.
Arthit Sriumporn, the senior vice president of commercial banking at SCB, gave a live demonstration of the app at a recent Ripple event. He says his bank and the San Francisco startup are “changing lives.”
“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.”
SCB, which is one of the largest banks in Thailand, also hopes to soon expand the app, called SCB Easy, into Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Additionally, the bank plans to partner with Ripple to offer cross-border EMVCo QR payments for micro-payment services. The app utilizes Ripple’s payment messaging system, which is designed to rival Swift. It does not use XRP.
Eight out of the top 10 countries using mobile payments are in Asia. According to PwC, some 86% of the Chinese population paid for purchases using mobile payments, as well as 67% in Thailand.
Says Sriumporn,
“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.”
Ripple notes that the app is “just the beginning” of their partnership with the bank.
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