The federal bank in India is finally embracing blockchain technology. The latest news is that the bank has entered a partnership with Ripple and its payment network RippleNet for cross-border payments to India and to enable Indians in diaspora transfer funds across borders.
This marks the upgrading of India’s existing payment rails to blockchain-based solutions which it hopes to increase its 15% share of the remittance market. The bank has also launched a platform that will allow Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) send money via exchange houses and banks using the Virtual Payment Address (VPA) for each NRI using the services.
Indians have been faced with the problem of sending money to families at home from other countries for years. According to a report in February 2019, Indians spent $2.3 billion in remittance fees in the year 2018 alone. This has led the Indians in the diaspora to push for the adoption of blockchain payment solutions to make funds transfer easier and cheaper.
Their dreams have finally come true and with the help of the federal bank according to the bank’s MD & CEO Shyam Srinivasan,
“Federal Bank is an important part of the remittance eco-system to India, so, it is only natural for us to offer the latest technology to our customers and remittance partners such as exchange houses and banks.”
“For long Federal Bank has endeavored to bring our non-resident clientele closer to their homes. Each of our digital offerings has been designed with this objective in mind,” he added.
India may soon be giving Bitcoin and cryptocurrency legal grounds to operate since the acceptance for blockchain has reached the country. For many years the country has been at war with cryptocurrencies, making its major crypto exchange Zebpay to move to Malta.
This adoption will certainly boost businesses in India apart from just NRIs sending funds home. Merchants are looking for easier and cheaper remittance services for their businesses and more may just be attracted to the country. Ripple and XRP have been going places and this is another major breakthrough which is likely to push XRP price up on the market.