The relationship was revealed today in a blog post by Ripple. The money transfers between the Egyptian bank and LuLu International Exchange, a UAE financial services business that specializes in foreign exchange and international money transfer, will be facilitated by the San Francisco firm via RippleNet.
The collaboration would allow the two businesses to promote remittances from Gulf countries to the North African region, including the United Arab Emirates. Egypt is among the top five countries in the world in terms of remittances collected. It earned $24.4 billion in money transfers in 2020, ranking fifth behind India, China, Mexico, and the Philippines.
Remittances are essential to Egypt’s economy as it represents 6.7% of GDP. Given the substantial effect that remittances have in Egypt, they are also relatively inefficient and costly. The Egyptian bank is attempting to rectify this, and it is relying on Ripple to do so.
Hesham Elsafty, the team head for global financial services at the bank explained the importance of remittance:
“Egypt ranks amongst the top five countries worldwide in terms of remittances received from its overseas expatriate communities. Given the important role remittances play in the Egyptian economy, the National Bank of Egypt is continuously aiming to develop and enhance the infrastructure which pertains to this line of business.”
Ripple’s new collaboration is with NBE and LuLu Exchange. In spite of getting embroiled in a legal dispute with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the blockchain business has managed to attract associates from across the world who intends to utilize RippleNet to facilitate cross-border transactions. On the legislative front, it has maintained that XRP is not really a security, and it appears to be winning the battle with the SEC.
We are proud to announce our partnership with Ripple and the National Bank Of Egypt to enhance real-time payments from UAE to Egypt that are faster and more affordable than ever before. Step into any of our 83 branches in the UAE to know more. #ripple #luluexchange @Ripple pic.twitter.com/xTGGZ18NLt
— LuLu Exchange (@LuLuExchange) May 19, 2021
Ripple has had particular breakthrough in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) zone. It has already established partnerships with banks in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman.
It has also partnered with Saudi Arabia’s central bank, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), to fuel transfers for the kingdom’s financial firms.
Navin Gupta, Ripple’s managing director for South Asia and MENA region, pointed out:
“The ability to send and receive money quickly, reliably and inexpensively today plays a larger role than ever before. Ripple is proud to partner with NBE and LuLu Exchange to bolster the MENA region’s financial infrastructure and provide a frictionless cross-border payments experience for the Egyptian community.”