Thailand’s oldest bank, Siam Commerical Bank (SCM), has hinted it will be experimenting with blockchain technology powered by Ripple.
Earlier this week, rumors of its blockchain pilot surfaced online after eagle-eyed users took to Twitter to share images of what appears to be a Ripple-based app for cross-border transactions. “Send money abroad today at the cheapest rates via Ripple,” reads a screenshot of the app, titled SCB Easy.
SCB social media reps have since addressed speculators on Twitter, claiming that more details about the Ripple integration “will be announce [sic] soon.”
Unfortunately for Ripple enthusiasts, although the Thai bank will rely on blockchain technology developed by the Palo Alto-headquartered company, it remains unclear whether the system will make use of its native token, XRP.
“We will be using [b]lockchain [t]echnology for [R]ipple but as for XRP, you may have to wait for further announcement [sic],” SCB commented on Twitter.
This isn’t the first time the Palo Alto firm has collaborated with banks. Indeed, a bank in India recently used Ripple tech to facilitate international payments.
Unfortunately, not all financial institutions have had success trialing Ripple’s tech. Back in 2018, Western Union CEO Hikmet Ersek told Fortune that after using XRP-powered integrations for six months, the payment service had yet to see a financial benefit.
It’ll be interesting to see if things go better for SCB.
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