Siam Commercial Bank Rolls Out App for Real-Time Cross-Border Payments

Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), Thailand’s oldest, is collaborating with Ripple to develop a mobile app powered by blockchain to offer real-time, cost effective, trans-border payments.

According to January 8 blog post by Ripple, the app, referred to as SCB Easy, was demonstrated in December during Swell, the annual client meeting of Ripple.

The demonstration proved the capability to complete trans-border payments in matter of few seconds.

Arthit Sriumporn, SCB’s senior vice president of commercial banking, explained the advantages of their service:

“It is so difficult to send and receive money today. People must physically go to a bank branch, fill out long and complicated forms and wait for payments to be received—with no transparency. With our service, their loved ones from abroad can transfer payment and receive money immediately.”

After elaborating on the service, Sriumporn demonstrated the app by sending a payment to a receiver’s bank account in less than 40 seconds. SCB is also cooperating with Ripple to provide trans-border EMVCo QR payment facility.

QR payments are commonly used in Asia and capitalizing this will permit SCB to provide micro payment services to clients along with remittances. A recent research carried out by PwC indicates that 86% of Chinese citizens use mobile payment apps and 67% of them use it in Thailand.

There is a need for quicker, cost effective method to send and receive payments in Asia as tourism and workforce abroad continue to increase across the region at a rapid pace. SCB intends to extend its services to Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam, together known as the CLMV countries.

During the Swell event, Sriumporn summed up by saying “One connection equals many possibilities.”