- The Malaysia/Bangladesh payment corridor will allow 45 million users to send remittances via RippleNet.
- Ripple could channel a share of the estimated $20 billion in remittance flows to Bangladesh.
Ripple has announced a partnership that will create a payment corridor between Malaysia and Bangladesh. Through the RippleNet, Mobile Money and bKash will be connected to offer their remittance services to 45 million users. The partners will be using the features of RippleNet to enable wallet to wallet remittances.
Mutual Trust Bank (MTB) will be the partner bank that will allow to settle the transactions and create a “frictionless” experience for the users. Furthermore, the cooperation will be supervised by the Bank of Bangladesh. With one of the largest remittance flows in South Asia and the world, the partners expect to increase the user base of Mobile Money and its partner by at least 20%, as BKash CEO Kamal Quadir said:
We are constantly exploring innovative ways to give simple solutions to our customers. bKash is happy to have partnered with Ripple in collaboration with Mutual Trust Bank of Bangladesh to deliver a cost effective, fast, transparent and reliable remittance sending experience to more than 10 million non-resident Bangladeshis all over the world.
Quadir hopes that the Malaysia-Bangladesh payment corridor will be an improved experience for remittance senders and recipients. In addition, he anticipates that the use of legal channels to send money will be encouraged and therefore that the partnership with Ripple will have a positive impact on the local economy.
Ripple enables wallet-to-wallet remittances in Asia
During 2020, the flow of remittances between Malaysia and Bangladesh reached an all-time high of $18.2 billion, said Mutual Trust Bank CEO Syed Mahbubur Rahman. Among the countries that send the most remittances to Bangladesh are the United States and the Middle East region. Therefore, the partnership has great opportunities to expand. In that sense, Ripple and its payment solutions will be a determining factor, as Rahman stated:
Ripple is keen to bring greater connectivity and convenience for the Bangladeshi population, and provide them with a more streamlined, frictionless cross-border payment experience. As Ripple is bolstering our presence in South Asia, we are excited to contribute to the infrastructure of the region to transform the way cross-border payments are executed.
Covid-19 has contributed greatly to the increase in the flow of remittances to the Asian country. Therefore, the partners are seeking to meet the “strong demand” for alternatives that enable sending remittances based on the traditional financial system. Mobile Money co-founder Lee Eng Sia said:
Our focus has always been on providing simple, cost-effective and convenient e-payment solutions to our customers. More than ever, the pandemic has demonstrated that there is a strong need for remittance solutions that enable people to transfer money anytime and anywhere.
Eng Sia added that the partnership with Ripple makes their company one of the first remittance solutions to use digital wallets for Bangladesh. Therefore, Eng Sia expects the RippleNet to enable partners to stay “ahead of the competition” and expand their customer base.
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