The Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) in Thailand will be launching its Ripple-based consumer international payments mobile app.
The SCB, which is one of the country’s largest commercial banks, began using RippleNet (Ripple company’s decentralized network of financial institutions) in order to connect to major banking partners across the globe. SCB aims to use the platform to help its customers make low-cost and near-instant cross-border payments via the SBC Easy mobile app.
The service is ideal for Thailand’s nearly 5 million migrant workers who have come from nearby countries including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam and several other locations in Southeast Asia.
The bank says that it’s now planning to offer instant payments to its small business and enterprise clients.
SCB and Ripple are reportedly developing a QR code-enabled app that allows people who are visiting Thailand to use their home-country app for conducting transactions without dealing with local and foreign currency exchange rates.
Arthit Sriumporn, senior vice president at the SCB, stated:
“Being part of RippleNet has helped us to completely enhance our customer experience, expand our business and keep SCB moving into the future.”
In addition to adopting the latest cross-border payments technology, the SCB aims to offer digital banking services through its subsidiary, SCB 10X Co Ltd.
Arthid Nanthawithaya, CEO at SCB, had noted in January 2020 that being able to accurately predict the success of the digital model is not easy because a lot may depend on regulatory issues.
Should SCB decide to provide new digital financial products, then the bank will take care of managerial duties, such as dealing with matters related to cost and asset quality control, and resource management. Meanwhile, SCB 10X would have to serve the institution’s S-curve growth and long-term income sources.