• The first money transfer service using distributed ledger technology is launched in the payment corridor from Japan to Vietnam.
• SBI Remit and MoneyGram offer a transfer service that can process transactions in real time.

Ripple offers payment solutions for companies to make cross-border transfers quickly, securely and cost-effectively. Ripple’s partner network has grown to more than 300 companies and more and more companies rely on Ripple’s innovative software. Now, for the first time, a payment corridor has been opened between Japan and Vietnam using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).

SBI Ripple Asia and Vietnamese Bank to cooperate

SBI Ripple, in collaboration with MoneyGram, has launched the first wire transfer service in the payment corridor from Japan to Vietnam using Ripple’s Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). The Vietnamese bank, Tien Phong, cooperates with SBI Remit and MoneyGram.

The introduction of RippleNet’s payment software enables real-time and cost-effective transfers between SBI Remit from Japan and Tien Phong Bank (TBank) from Vietnam. TPBank was valued at USD 5.3 billion in 2017 and is one of the ten largest banks in Vietnam.

The bank’s current focus is on digital transformation and e-banking. The bank also has a money transfer app that allows customers to scan money with a barcode and then send it. Nguyen Hung, CEO of TPBank, explains that customers can now process transactions in real time:

Customers will not have to wait for a few hours to make money transfers from Japan to a TPBank account because from now on, using RippleNet, applying blockchain technology to international money transfer, customers only need a few minutes to complete these transactions.

TPBank was founded in 2008 and SBI Group acquired a 19.9% stake in the company in August 2009. The bank continues to use advanced technologies to increase the loan size, especially in the retail sector. The bank has a market capitalization of 89.4 billion yen.

The press release also states that the procedures used meet all regulatory and legal requirements for international transfers and that all stakeholders attach great importance to transparency (freely translated):

Transactions are executed faster while ensuring safety and transparency and cash flows will still be legally transferred via foreign banks to Vietnam. At TPBank, transactions are ensured to comply with all domestic and foreign regulations including AML.

University of Kyoto operates XRPL Validator

The University of Kyoto is the first institution in Asia to use Ripple’s XRPL Validator, contributing to the decentralisation of the Ripple Protocol. The University is thus taking on the role of mediator and validating the processes in the ledger.

Ripple also finds further cooperation partners in Asia and further expands its network. The results of the Swell conference were also impressive, but the price of XRP still shows no reaction.