Ripple blockchain powers remittances from Japan to Thailand

Siam Commercial Bank, in collaboration with Japan's SBI Remit, is using the Ripple blockchain enterprise solution to power real-time remittance payments between Japan and Thailand.

According to a press release, approximately 40,000 Thai nationals live in Japan; remittance flows from Japan to Thailand come to approximately $250 million a year.

The new service supports individual funds transfers from Japanese yen to Thai baht in SCB savings accounts in Thailand.

Once sent, the funds are credited to an SCB recipient's account within two to five seconds compared with up to two business days for current remittance methods.

SCB plans to roll out the service to key markets in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific as well, the press release said.

"Customers increasingly expect payments to work in real time, whether domestic or international," Dr. Arak Sutivong, chief strategy officer at SCB, said in the release. "We are proud to be the first bank to use Ripple's leading blockchain network solution to power real-time payments between Japan and Thailand for our customers, whose families oftentimes depend on the availability of these funds for basic needs."