Kuwait Adopts Ripple for Payment

On 27th December, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) announced its decision to adopt Ripple as their cross-border remittance product. Ripple is the biggest altcoin according to the market capitalization. NBK has put a step forward to keep up with the latest technology in the banking sector.

NBK is the topmost national bank and one of the significant banks of the territory; it appeared in 1952. According to the annual report published in 2017, the bank has the most asset of all the financial institutions of Kuwait. The bank also has the highest credit rating record, according to Moody’s standard, Poor’s and Fitch. They enjoy a significant market share in the nation’s commercial banking sector.

The bank has collaborated with RippleNet, a worldwide corporate for building their remittance product with the intensity of Blockchain innovation. NBK becomes the first bank of the nation to launch “NBK Direct Remit” to make live payments across the border, as a result of this partnership. All the NBK customers can use this online remittance service 24/7.

With the incorporation of this latest technology, the bank can offer swift and secure money transfer across the border within seconds. Additionally, the bank can have an end-to-end clarity throughout the course of the payment.

Deputy CEO of the Bank is optimistic about extending their service to different parts of the world in the near future. But initially, it is going to get started for Jordan only.

The bank is focused on making digital technology and innovation the center of their strategy so that they can improve their customer experience with operation speed, security, and transparency. The bank had previously launched NBK Tap & Pay and Quick pay that serves different banking segments.

NBK has a global presence through its branches, companies, representative offices in different nations of the world. They also have their presence in some of the nations of Africa, Europe, and Middle East Asia.
They are the first bank of Kuwait to start the live payment service. NBK is a significant partner of Ripple from the region. Soon after the announcement by the bank Ripple has decided to set up their office in Dubai. So, they can expand their operation in the southern part of Asia and the Middle East.

In October, this year Ripple had announced the introduction of xRapid; this service will speed up the payment process with emphasis on the cross-border transaction.