The increased penetration of cryptocurrency in the digital payment arena appears to be affecting the landscape of cross-border remittances. Financial institutions and other mainstream establishments are now jostling with blockchain startups for control over an industry that could possibly experience massive growth over the next few years. With more participants comes greater competition and an emphasis on creating the most robust operating technology. To achieve this aim, some players are leveraging their status as giants of their respective mainstream fields while others are pursuing partnerships and collaborations. For historically unbanked and underbanked areas of the world, the emerging landscape is …

Major money transmission network MoneyGram has entered into a strategic partnership with blockchain-based payments firm Ripple, according to a press release on June 17. As part of the two-year agreement, the two firms will become partners in cross-border payments and foreign exchange settlements with digital assets. As part of the agreement, MoneyGram will be able to draw up to $50 million dollars from Ripple in exchange for equity. MoneyGram will purportedly use Ripple’s xRapid liquidity product, which allows money to be sent in one currency and instantly settled in the destination currency. In using Ripple’s XRP token for such transfers, …

American financial services company The Western Union Company has partnered with Philippines-based e-wallet provider Coins.ph to enable Filipinos to conduct cross-border money transfers. The development was announced in a press release published on April 3. Within the collaboration, Western Union will purportedly integrate the Coins.ph blockchain-based platform into its cross-border platform, enabling users in the Philippines to receive and hold international money transfers directly into their Coins.ph wallets. Prior to using the new services, customers reportedly have to register for Coins.ph wallet, provide a valid ID, and pass electronic Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures. The release further notes that Coins.ph …

The governors of two central banks endorsed the Ethereum (ETH)-based remittance system developed by blockchain company Everex, the firm reported in a press release shared with Cointelegraph today, April 5. The service is set up to send payments between Thailand and Myanmar. The system was reportedly presented by the startup, along with its partners, state-owned Krungthai Bank of Thailand and Shwe Bank of Myanmar, at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) central bank governors and finance ministers meeting on April 4. The Everex press release cites Veerathai Santiprabhob, the governor of Thailand’s Central Bank, as commenting on the project: …

India’s Federal Bank, a commercial private bank, has partnered with Ripple to use its network for cross-border remittances. The bank announced the development in a letter on March 28. The partnership with Ripple comes as part of a wider initiative to apply new technologies to the bank’s remittances network. Also on March 28, Federal Bank launched two remittance platforms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for making payments to India. One of the platforms will purportedly allow non-resident Indians in the UAE to send money through exchange houses and banks using the Virtual Payment Address of the recipient. Federal Bank, …

Major global online payments firm Netpay International has partnered with Israeli firm BNC LedgerTech to integrate blockchain into its services, Finance Magnates reported on Feb. 12. Netpay International will reportedly become the fourth fintech firm to use BNC LedgerTech’s digital, blockchain-based banking solution “Ubanker.” By using the blockchain-based tool, Netpay International will reportedly cut operation costs. According to the report, BNC LedgerTech charges a fixed minimum fee, whereas banks generally charge a percentage of the total transferred amount. According to Finance Magnates, Ubanker complies with European Union central bank regulations, while BNC LedgerTech holds an electronic money institution license in …

Remittance company SendFriend has received investments from Ripple (XRP), the Mastercard Foundation, MIT Media Lab and Barclays in a funding round, according to a press release published on Feb. 11. In the round, the firm raised $1.7 million from investors — also including Techstars, Mahindra Finance, 2020 Ventures and 8 Decimal Capital — to develop its remittance service, which lets users send money to the Philippines using blockchain. SendFriend uses Ripple’s xRapid product for cross-border payments, converting between USD, XRP and Philippine pesos and circumventing the longer process of traditional banking systems. The press release claims that SendFriend will feature …

Finablr, a global payment platform and foreign exchange operator based in the United Arab Emirates, has joined Ripple’s (XRP) RippleNet blockchain network, a press release reveals on Feb. 11. Finablr's network brands, UAE Exchange and payment platform Unimoni, will use the blockchain-based platform provided by Ripple to complete real-time transactions to Thailand. The firm also reported it has plans to expand the services to other countries in future. As per the press release, the first partner in the service major Thai bank, Siam Commercial Bank, letting UAE Exchange and Unimoni customers globally send money to Thailand. The bank has been …

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) central bank (UAECB) and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) have announced that the interbank digital currency they are co-developing will be called “Aber.” The news was reported by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority on Jan. 29. A joint statement from the banks has reportedly outlined that the use of Aber will be limited to financial settlements using distributed ledger technologies (DLT) “on a probational basis and [for] exclusive use by a limited number of banks in the two countries.” While news of the two countries’ plans for a digital currency for cross-border interbank settlement …

The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has launched a cross-border remittance product based on RippleNet’s blockchain technology, according to an announcement published Dec. 27. Established in 1952, the NBK is the largest financial institution in terms of assets in Kuwait. Per the bank’s 2017 annual report, the NBK has over $86.3 billion in total assets. The NBK has reportedly become the first financial establishment in Kuwait to implement a remittance product — “NBK Direct Remit” — for international live payments based on RippleNet’s blockchain technology. The product will purportedly speed up cross-border money transfers. Dimitrios Kokosioulis, the deputy CEO of …

Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group plans to introduce a digital currency to be used for remittances and payments in March, English-language Asian media Nikkei reports Dec. 26. According to the article, the fees that the retail shops will be required to pay for accepting the currency will be significantly lower than the fees charged for credit card usage. The transfer of funds back and forth between the digital wallet and the bank account will reportedly be free, as will be sending funds to other users. Furthermore, according to Nikkei, the bank brought “about 60 regional banks on board” to promote cashless …

A Japanese fintech company has unveiled a system that is designed to address the price volatility seen when cryptocurrencies are used for remittances. Atom Solutions says that, at present, the options for foreign workers who need to make overseas remittances are imperfect. While costs can be high when they try to complete transactions through a traditional bank, an entirely different issue altogether comes to the fore when crypto is used. Because of the wild fluctuations seen in the marketplace — from Bitcoin and Ethereum to lesser-known altcoins — the value of a remittance can fall dramatically in a short space …