The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has become the first bank in the Middle East to use Ripple’s solution for real-time cross-border payments.
According to the press release, the issue of security was crucial to the National Bank of Abu Dhabi Ripple partnership. By integrating Ripple technology, NBAD eliminates the requirement of using intermediary banks for transfers.
“At NBAD we strive to ensure our offerings are efficient and transparent. Blockchain technology transforms and paves a new way in achieving our goals and better serve our customers, adding value through accessibility and transparency. As an initial adopter and first bank to go live on Ripple, NBAD offers innovative solutions to our clients’ payments needs,” Ramana Kumar, Managing Director & Head of GTB Business and Product Management, said.
NBAD joins a growing list of financial institutions to adopt Ripple technology to improve their cross-border payments. Santander, UniCredit, UBS, ReiseBank, CIBC, and ATB Financial are among the latest banks to do so.
“Banks and their customers have been hearing about the promise of blockchain technology to enable real-time cross-border payments. Now, some of the most innovative and successful banks like NBAD are making this a reality by offering Ripple-enabled payments to their entire customer base, and in doing so, paving the way to make 2018 the year we see broad commercialization of blockchain take hold globally,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse added.
In December 2017, the Japan Bank Consortium — a coalition of 61 banks in Japan – announced the launch of a new Ripple pilot with Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank, two of South Korea’s largest banks. The same month, Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya PCL), one of the largest banks in Thailand, partnered with Ripple to “remove the friction” from cross-border payments.
Last month, Ripple’s adoption continued to stretch out, with MoneyGram announcing they would integrate XRP and Ripple’s xRapid solution.
National Bank of Abu Dhabi Ripple partnership – Image source: Maxpixel