Ripple-powered cross-border remittances now in Saudi Arabia courtesy of Saudi British Bank

• SABB’s Ripple-powered payment service is in line with its “strategic plan towards digital transformation and enriching customer experience.”
• Bank is planning on adding more countries and their respective currencies to the platform.

According to a press release on April 25, Saudi Arabia residents will have access to instant cross-border transfers through the Saudi British Bank (SABB). The commercial bank said that the new product was launched at the Financial Sector Conference in Riyadh and is in line with its “strategic plan towards digital transformation and enriching customer experience.”

SABB is among the first banks in Saudi Arabia to partner with Ripple back in 2018. The collaboration saw the bank carry out a trial for the transactions in December last year while using the Indian rupee.

According to the Majed Najm, who is SABB’s MD of corporate and institutional banking, the technology will enable the bank to facilitate better and faster cross-border payments. While the rupee is the first currency to have support on the platform, the bank is planning on adding more countries and their respective currencies to the platform. He continued:

“This step is part of the bank’s ongoing efforts to provide the best banking services to customers, make use of the latest technology and global banking products available, and create methods and means to save time and effort for our customers.”

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