Siam Commercial Bank has used technology from Ripple to upgrade its mobile payments application SCB Easy to deliver instant, low-cost cross-border payments.
The 112-year old Thai bank believes the application will be a boon to overseas workers and tourists looking for a fast, efficient way to send and recive funds across borders.
SCB’s SVP of Commercial Banking, Arthit Sriumporn, says: “It is so difficult to send and receive money today. People must physically go to a bank branch, fill out long and complicated forms and wait for payments to be received—with no transparency. With our service, their loved ones from abroad can transfer payment and receive money immediately."
Launched in 2017, SCB Easy had nine million users at the end of 2018. That number is expected to grow exponentially over the course of the next year as the bank expands its footprint into neighbouring CLMV territories - Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Additionally, SCB and Ripple are working together to offer EMVCo QR payments through the app, enabling anyone within Southeast Asia to make payments in another country without using the local currency.
Says Sriumporn: “Imagine you are a tourist coming to Thailand, and you can use your home country mobile application to scan for payment and eliminate the need to exchange for local currency. You can use your mobile app, scan the QR payment and receive goods right away.”