CIMB Group Joins RippleNet to Power Instant Payments Across ASEAN

CIMB Group, ASEAN’s fifth largest bank, and Ripple have entered into a strategic collaboration to enable instant cross-border payments across CIMB’s markets. On the back of this partnership, CIMB will join RippleNet and connect with other Ripple customers — more than a hundred financial institutions worldwide — a move that will allow CIMB to more quickly grow its global payments business.

CIMB is one of the region’s first banks to leverage blockchain technology for speedy and cost-efficient international payments. In a region where these payments have historically been both slow and inefficient, bringing better services has never been more important.

The World Bank projects that this year alone remittances to Southeast Asia will grow to $120 billion. Additional data from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) suggests that the size of global market for cross-border payments volume is $27 trillion, and another $20 trillion could be up for grabs between 2018-2026. Approximately 39% of this remittance market is centered in the ASEAN region.

Ripple’s blockchain-based solution has been deployed to enhance CIMB’s proprietary remittance product called SpeedSend. This service allows customers to send and receive money with direct account crediting and instant cash collection. The enhancement improves their access to cross-border remittances across the globe — both inbound into ASEAN and outbound to other countries. It is already enabling remittances to corridors such as Australia, USA, UK and Hong Kong.

“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,” said Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz, CEO, CIMB Group.

As part of the overall partnership roadmap, CIMB intends to extend the solution to other use cases across the Group.

“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.”