Middle Eastern bank latest to execute cross-border payment via blockchain
(1 February 2017 – Global) The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) announced that it is the first lender in the Middle East to introduce real-time cross-border payments utilising blockchain technology.
Through a partnership with Ripple, a US firm specialising in blockchain technology, NBAD said it would allow customers to cut the cost and speed of payments.
NBAD is the lastest in a string of banks to partner with the New York-based technology startup including Santander, Standard Chartered and Unicredit.
NBAD's move follows an announcement in October by the UAE's largest lender, Emirates NBD, that it was working with Indian bank ICICI on a pilot project to use blockchain technology for global remittances and trade finance.
Ramana Kumar, Managing Director & Head of GTB Business and Product Management, said: "At NBAD we strive to ensure our offerings are efficient and transparent. Blockchain technology transforms and paves a new way in achieving our goals and better serve our customers, adding value through accessibility and transparency. As an initial adopter and first bank to go live on Ripple, NBAD offers innovative solutions to our clients payments needs.”
Vineet Varma, Managing Director & Head of Global Transaction Banking, NBAD said: "We're always exploring new ways to enhance our customers' experience. With blockchain, we hope that we could address the needs of our customers and drive forward more efficient and flexible service. Embracing technologies like Blockchain is a step in right direction for our customers.”
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, added, "Banks and their customers have been hearing about the promise of blockchain technology to enable real-time cross-border payments. Now, some of the most innovative and successful banks like NBAD are making this a reality by offering Ripple-enabled payments to their entire customer base, and in doing so, paving the way to make 2017 the year we see broad commercialization of blockchain take hold globally."
The United Arab Emirates accounts for more than US$19 billion (A$24.8 billion) of remittances per year, ranking it fourth in the world, according to World Bank data.
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