Malaysia’s CIMB Banking Group Taps RippleNet for Instant Cross-Border Payments Among ASEAN Countries
San Francisco-based blockchain startup Ripple Labs is making aggressive moves in the Asian subcontinent and this time it lands to Malaysia. Ripple Labs has recently entered into a strategic alliance with the Malaysian lending giant CIMB Group Holdings.
As part of this association, the CIMB group will join Ripple’s cross-border blockchain-based payments network RippleNet. RippleNet is the company’s blockchain ecosystem with several global banking giants and financial companies as a part of it.
According to the official blog post by Ripple, its strategic partnership with CIMB will help to deploy “speedy and cost-efficient international payments” across the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region. Furthermore, Ripple’s blockchain solution will work towards expanding CIMB’s proprietary remittance system, SpeedSend.
It will also help to expand the reach of CIMB’s SpeedSend network while simultaneously opening new payment corridors to other outbound countries in addition to the ASEAN.
Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz, CEO, CIMB Group, said: “We are delighted to be part of RippleNet and look forward to a fruitful partnership with Ripple by leveraging each other’s strengths and capabilities. This innovative blockchain solution will revolutionize international cross-border remittances, and is a testament to CIMB’s ongoing efforts to enhance its digital banking proposition by providing speedy and cost-efficient solutions to our customers across ASEAN”.
CIMB will be one of the first banks in Malaysia to leverage the blockchain technology to deploy faster and cost-effective international payments. South East Asia has often witnessed slow and inefficient remittance services over the past year. At such time, CIMB’s collaboration with Ripple will prove to be path-breaking. However, the World Bank predicts that this year itself, the remittance service industry will grow to $120 billion.
“We’re seeing banks and financial institutions from across the world lean into blockchain solutions because it enables a more transparent, quicker and lower cost payments experience,” said Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO. “CIMB’s network already spans 15 countries, nearly 800 branches and offers Speedsend — one of the best solutions in the ASEAN region. Now, by integrating Ripple’s blockchain technology, they will enable their customers to send vital funds to family, friends and loved ones more efficiently. With its focus on innovation, CIMB will continue to be a dominant force in the region for years to come.”