(14 September 2018 – Global) National Commercial Bank in Saudi Arabia has enlisted the help of RippleNet to open up remittance payment corridors between the Kingdom and US and Asian markets.
The agreement is the first struck up between Ripple and a Saudi bank following a February agreement with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority to create a pilot program and sandbox for KSA banks to test out connections with Ripple.
The Middle East is one of the largest sources of remittances in the world. According to World Bank data, $308 million were sent into Saudi Arabia and $37 billion in remittances were send from the country in 2016.
For the National Commercial Bank, the second largest bank in the country, the connection to RippleNet will enable it to hook up with other financial institutions on the network and open up new markets in North America and Asia, beginning with Singapore.