Indian Bank Kotak Mahindra Taps Ripple for Instant International Remittance
Major Indian private bank Kotak Mahindra is the latest financial institution to join RippleNet, Ripple’s enterprise blockchain network, to enable inward remittances.
In an announcement [PDF ], Kotak Mahindra Bank revealed it use San Francisco-based Ripple’s blockchain technology to power inward international remittances in India, the world’s largest remittance receiver. Specifically, Kotak will use Ripple’s enterprise blockchain software, xCurrent, to enable end-to-end tracking of instant payments and settlements over RippleNet, the company’s enterprise blockchain network.
Notably, the blockchain solution does not use Ripple’s token cryptocurrency XRP, which powers a separate product in xRapid.
By using xCurrent, Kotak says the average time to settle international money transfers could come down to minutes instead of several days. The bank’s retail users can also remit smaller sums of money frequently at lower rates, the bank confirmed.
Kotak Mahindra’s chief digital officer Deepak Sharma stated:
xCurrent ticks all the boxes and enables us to offer our customers a more transparent and efficient global payments service using blockchain. Joining RippleNet also expands our payment network globally by allowing us to connect with other members.
With over 1300 branches, Kotak Mahindra is among India’s largest private banks and joins fellow private lenders Axis Bank and IndusInd as members of RippleNet, a network comprising of over 100 financial institutions including banks, payment providers, remittance operators and even a central bank. Earlier this year, The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), the defacto central bank for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, joined RippleNet to launch a blockchain pilot enabling domestic banks to send payments via the network using xCurrent.
Recognizing India as a priority market with over $70 billion in inward remittances in 2017, Ripple expanded into the country by opening an office in Mumbai, the country’s financial capital.
Furthermore, Ripple revealed that the three member Indian banks among its ranks “are looking to connect through RippleNet to members outside India” to offer two-way remittance services to their customers.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
