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Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the first Islamic bank established in 1977 in the State of Kuwait, has launched an instant cross-border remittance service powered by Ripple’s blockchain technology.
In May 2018, KFH joined Ripple’s blockchain network, RippleNet. In its official release dated January 08, it announced that it has started operating “Instant International Transfer” using Ripple’s blockchain technology.
Calling the launch a “significant milestone,” KFH said that this follows technical preparations, pilot testing and approval from the Central Bank of Kuwait.
The zero fees “Instant International Transfer” service is currently available in Saudi Riyal SAR where customers can make remittance transactions to beneficiaries at Al Rajhi Bank, a Saudi Arabian bank and a strategic partner. KFH plans to expand the service to encompass more countries in different currencies.
Abdulla Abu Alhous, Group Chief Operations Officer at KFH, said that the application marks a “paradigm shift and an unprecedented development at the level of the market in general and at the level of the Bank’s array of services in particular.”
Abo Alhous said that blockchain technology gives KFH the opportunity to apply novel approaches to achieve its objectives, improve customer service and add more value to maintain the leadership position of KFH.
“KFH has reached the final stages of implementing “Instant International Transfer” service on mobile phones through KFHonline," he added.
“Kuwait and KSA are large economies in the GCC and Ripple is excited to get customers of KFH to send instant payments into Al Rajhi Bank in KSA. In 2019, we will work with KFH to deliver quicker, cheaper payments to many more countries,” Navin Gupta, Managing Director, South Asia & MENA at Ripple, said.
Last month, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the first local bank and the first shareholding company in Kuwait, also launched a cross-border payments service powered by Ripple’s blockchain technology.
